College: Off the Chain
by Peachy Hikaru
Summary: Kyoya is finally in love! With Shana  an OC . But the road to blissful love is fraught with tensions and there's a jealous person who doesn't want Shana to get her happy ending...
1. Chapter 1

_Hey again guys. (:_ _Okay, this time I decided to write from a normal POV instead of from the characters' POV… I decided it was too advanced cough. So sorry if you guys were disappointed. ): Also, I apologize in advance if the chapters of this story are uploaded much more sporadically and infrequently, because I'm going to be spending most of the rest of the year (not that there's much of it now) in Japan, then when the new year starts I'm going to need to study a lot more… oh, and I don't own any of the characters except my OCs, which yeah, kind of make up half the cast. (coughs)_

Shana idly sipped from the champagne glass she held in one delicate hand and wondered what she was doing here, at Mitsukuni Haninozuka's party. She didn't even know the guy, yet she was here because her friends had insisted. She sighed and idly stroked her artificially auburn hair, which she had left mostly cascading down her shoulders tonight.

She turned to survey the crowd that had shown up and wondered how many rich twittering bimbos there were among the crowd. It was probably mean of her to do it, but she couldn't help it.

She was so busy wrapped up in her own thoughts that she totally didn't notice the young man who snuck up next to her. When he suddenly asked, "Not enjoying the party?" she was shocked.

She managed to quell her instant reaction – a shriek, predictably, and forced an expression of calm onto her face. "Of course I am," she replied coolly. He smiled at her, his eyes half-hidden by the reflection off the lenses of his glasses. His lips quirked upward slightly. "Ootori Kyoya," he said, holding his hand out politely.

She put her hand in his. "I'm Shana," she said with a polite smile.

Kyoya was shocked when he looked at her. From how Haruhi had described her to Tamaki and the rest of the gang, he had assumed she was a tall, busty girl. This tiny, petite little piece of fluff was not at all what he'd expected.

He covered up his shock well though, and managed to ask, "So, I've never seen you at one of Hani-senpai's parties…"

Shana replied without a hitch. "Well, I'm a friend of Haruhi and Kaori. They invited me." Kyoya already knew that, but he hadn't thought Shana important enough to do a background check on her, so he knew only what Haruhi had told him. This person was a mystery to him, and one he would relish unravelling.

Unfortunately, now was not the time to start solving the mystery. Shana looked up, saw her friends and, with a polite smile, walked off, leaving Kyoya to contemplate the odd attraction he felt for her. It had never happened before, with any girl, not even the many customers of the Host Club in Ouran High.

As Shana walked away from Kyoya, she wondered why his name sounded so familiar. When she rejoined her friends, she asked curiously, "Hey, do any of you guys know Ootori Kyoya?"

She was rather shocked and disappointed by their reactions. Haruhi stared at her like she had lost her mind. Tamaki smiled and Takashi coughed. "He was a member of the Host Club, and our good friend, Shana. Why do you ask?" Tamaki said to her.

"Well… we were just talking. He seems nice," she said nonchalantly. Haruhi's eyes bugged out even more. "Wait-wait a minute," she said. "_You _and _Kyoya_?" Haruhi exclaimed. "Dude, that's like totally not going to happen!"

Shana's brow furrowed. "Why not? Do you guys know something about him that I don't?" she asked, concerned. Her imagination rapidly ran wild. Was he a serial killer? Paedophile? Escapee from an asylum?

Haruhi coughed. "Well… you guys are polar opposites, that's all. You're all bubbly and full of life, and he's… well…" she floundered. "Tamaki, help me," she told him. Tamaki obligingly added, "He's very… business-like, in every sense. In whatever he does, he always has a motive, one that is to his gain."

Shana was surprised. "O-okay," she said, mentally knocking herself on the head. What the hell had she been thinking? How could a friend of Haruhi's be an escapee from an asylum?

Then Tamaki and Haruhi drifted off, and so did Takashi and Kaori, and she was left alone.

Somehow, Kyoya found her and they struck up a conversation again. She found Kyoya to be rather charming, not at all like they had described. Sure, she could see that he was fiercely intelligent, but Shana was, despite all life had thrown at her, an optimist, and she could see the kindness in him.

Before the night was over, she had a date with him. As she made her way back to her dorm room, she thought about how they had warned her. Maybe she had better be cautious when dealing with him. After all, more heartbreak in her life was all she needed.

When she let herself into her dorm room, she saw that Chantelle was sitting on her bed, looking like she was just itching for a fight. Shana sighed tiredly.

"Chantelle, before you start bitching, can you at least let me get this stupid outfit and makeup off? God, I swear, it's caking on my skin," Shana groaned as she grabbed her pyjamas and headed for the en suite bathroom they shared.

When she came out, she was holding her dress and shoes in one hand. Her face was scrubbed clean of any makeup, and she wore a silky negligee.

Chantelle sneered at her. "Look at you. You're like a child porn star." Shana flicked a disparaging glance her way. "And you would know," she said calmly, before sitting on her bed.

Chantelle glared. Shana continued, "Besides, most porn stars don't wear teddies. They wear… something like you're wearing." Since Chantelle was wearing a see-through teddy that had huge holes in the sides, she couldn't really dispute that.

She seethed. "You little bitch. Did you have fun at that party that I was supposed to be attending instead of you and your little bitch friends?"

Shana replied, without even looking at her, "Yeah I did. I got a date. I'm pooped, Chantelle. Can we continue this little game tomorrow?"

With that, she flicked off the lights and crawled into bed, yawning. "I'm not done yet, you little hussy!" Chantelle exclaimed furiously.

"Too bad," Shana said, before falling asleep.

_Hey guys! (Too many author's notes, I know) Hope you enjoyed the short first chapter. (coughs) I'm sorry, I never know where to start. ): Yup enjoy! And please R&R._


	2. Chapter 2

When their date finally arrived, Kyoya picked Shana up from the lobby of her dorm. He had said that they were going to a hotel dinner, so she had dressed accordingly. She wore an evening gown in black, and her hair was twisted into an elegant updo.

Kyoya came to pick her up right on time, in his sleek black Ferrari. Shana was used to such things and so didn't bat an eyelash as she got into the car. "Good evening," she greeted Kyoya. He returned the greeting.

Kyoya wasn't very sure why he had wanted to take Shana on a date; all he knew was that he did – very badly. And like the so many things he had, he intended to work for her.

Somehow, as the date progressed, he just liked her more and more. And that tiny body of hers – at first it had amused him, but now he saw the sinuous curves that had been there all along.

When the date ended and he was forced to take her back to her dorm room, he couldn't help it. Almost involuntarily, he leaned in for a kiss.

Shana was amazed by his audacity. By rights, she should be punching him into the ground, yet she found herself leaning into his embrace helplessly, unable to curb the strange desire flowing through her veins.

"Shana…" he murmured, right before he claimed her lips. It was a kiss unlike anything he had ever experienced. It would be a lie to say that he had never kissed anyone; he had been a host, after all, albeit a rather inactive one. But none of the high school giggling girls he had been forced to kiss had ever seemed as seductive and desirable as Shana.

He had only intended to get a swift taste – hadn't he? He really didn't know… but any noble intentions he might have ever had were lost in the heat of the blaze that burned between them, bright and fierce.

For her part, Shana wasn't doing much to protest. "Kyoya…" she moaned into the kiss. Her arms tightened involuntarily around him. It was so odd… she knew that it was wrong, she shouldn't be kissing a man on their first date, yet she couldn't help it.

"Kyoya…" she moaned, trying to draw on her common sense – or anything, really, to justify why this was wrong, like she knew it was.

"Yes, Shana?" he murmured. Shana was tempted to throw caution to the wind and haul him into the back seat, but she would not do that. She pulled away from him, breaking their kiss. For a moment, they just sat there breathing hard, then she glared at him. "What the hell was that?" she asked. He shrugged. "Hell if I know."

They sat there, thinking, for a moment. Then, Kyoya asked, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Shana glared at him. "After that? I would have beaten you into the ground if you hadn't asked." He smiled at that. "Am I supposed to take that as a 'yes'?" he asked.

Shana melted inside. He seemed too cute to stay mad at. She wrapped a slender hand around the back of his neck and pulled him closer to her. He held his breath as she drew closer, in the hopes of sharing another amazing kiss, but Shana just gave him a chaste peck on the lips before saying her goodnights and exiting the car.

After she was gone, Kyoya just sat in the car for a moment, basking in the warmth of their encounter. Then he put his hand over his eyes and groaned as he rubbed on the bridge of his nose.

What the hell was he doing? Why did everything skyrocket out of control when he was around her? She was like a drug to him, something he shouldn't have but needed. She threatened to make all those feelings and secrets buried deep inside him spill out. She was dangerous. If he knew what was good for him, he would stay away from her. But, for the first time in so long, he was going to do what he wanted to, and not what he should.

After all, did he not have the right to be happy too? Did he have to spend his life slaving away for his family business?

Shana leaned against the wall of the elevator, trembling. What the hell was that? She pressed a trembling finger to her lips, which still felt Kyoya's on them. This was… unbelievable. It was something so out of her imagination that she was unable to understand it.

All her life, she had never been the girl that everyone noticed. She had been the geeky little kid who was the teacher's pet and always came in top of the class. Boys had always ignored her, preferring instead to go for the other girls, girls like Chantelle.

That had been her first kiss. She had never believed what she had overheard about kissing in high school. The other girls had described it as a whirlwind, knocking them off their feet and sweeping them into an abyss of endless pleasure – no exaggeration in the retelling, honest.

Shana had laughed at them derisively and maybe a bit sadly. It was foolish to describe something so mundane as a kiss from someone that she would likely not stay with for any length of time, but at the same time, she had envied them their ability to remain blissfully happy of the future that awaited them.

She had never had that luxury. But for the first time, maybe she had some hope that she would get her own happy ending. And that hope was something that she would cling to with all her heart – how could she not?

The elevator stopped at her floor and she got off calmly, for she never let the outside world see what she was feeling inside, no matter how tumultuous she felt.

Chantelle sat on her bed and scowled. She had just gotten a text from one of her friends who had seen Shana and Kyoya's kiss. It had been, as her friend had described, 'hot'.

Chantelle wanted to break something. It wasn't fair! Why should Shana, that little brat, get the hot rich guy? Chantelle could have had Takashi, if only they hadn't butted in. Now he was dating that little bitch's friend! Didn't she deserve happiness so much more than the little bitch and her friends?

There and then, Chantelle swore that she would make Shana sorry for everything that she and her friends had done.

_Hey guys! Hope you liked my chapter! (: I'm aware it seems really stilted and awkward at the moment, but I promise that it won't be for long! On by the way, I'm going away soon, and won't be able to write or upload chappies! Sorry. Yup, the usual, please R&R!_


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you serious? You and Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi asked incredulously when Shana told them about her new boyfriend.

Shana looked down shyly. "Yeah…" she admitted in a small voice. "Why? Is it that hard to believe?"

Haruhi gaped. They were like day and night, chalk and cheese… how could they be together? Still… opposites attract, don't they? Maybe this could potentially work out…

Kaori glared. "You and _Kyoya_? How come you never told us!" she exclaimed heatedly. Shana rolled her eyes. "I'm telling you now, aren't I. It's not like I've been keeping him some big secret or anything."

As they walked towards the cafeteria, they continued talking about Kaori and Shana's new relationships.

"Kyoya!" Shana exclaimed, as she almost ran into him. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Kyoya gave her a flat face. "Why, I study here, of course." Haruhi and Kaori burst out laughing. "What? You didn't know where he studied – especially since it's the same campus as us?" Haruhi managed to choke out between giggles.

Shana gave her a dirty look. "Well, give me a break! It's not like I've ever seen him around! Oh yeah, that reminds me," she said, turning back to face Kyoya, "Why haven't I seen you around?"

"Well, I have off-campus accommodations," he said matter-of-factly. "I don't spend more time than necessary on campus, of course," he told her. "It messes with my work schedule too much already!"

As they walked to a table, Kyoya and Shana continued talking. "Well… so what are you majoring in?" she asked. "Business and Finance," he replied. "And Political Science," he added nonchalantly.

Her eyes widened. _Two _majors? Both of which sounded really tough! And having to juggle that with lots of business stuff… "Wow," she gasped. "That's really impressive!" she said, before she could stop herself. "But wait, if you're double majoring, then why haven't I seen you around before?" she asked curiously.

A blush stained his cheekbones. Praise had never bothered him much before, mostly because he could see that it was only a ploy to suck up to him. But he could tell that Shana's praise was genuine, and she was one of the few people he genuinely cared about. "Is it? I never realized," he said, embarrassed. "Um… I don't spend much time on campus, I suppose. I usually only come for lessons. And I have off-campus accommodations, so it's not like I have to spend lots of time here. Plus, you're doing law, right? The law library is separate from all the other subjects. Not that I usually go to the college library anyway," he concluded lamely.

What was with Shana that she could turn him into a blabbering fool? When she asked him a question, he would reply with a gushing fountain of information that he was sure she had no interest in. still, the way she managed to make him feel like everything he said mattered was something that was so precious to him.

And that was something scary to him, foreign and unknown. He knew he should probably think about it, but he didn't want to. He wanted to soak up all the time with Shana that he could. She was probably the first impulsive thing that he had ever done in his life.

Still, although he knew it was stupid and rash, he couldn't help but offer, "Well, there's a long weekend coming up, and it's probably the last time we'll be able to go to the beach before it gets too cold, so… would you like to go to my family's beach villa with me? Don't worry, it's in Japan," he rushed to reassure her.

Shana's eyes lit up. As it so happened, Haruhi and Tamaki were going to the countryside and Mori and Kaori had already made plans as well. Shana had been pondering whether to ask Kyoya if he wanted to do anything.

"Sure I'd love to!" she agreed immediately, a big stupid grin plastered on her cheeks. She so wanted to wipe it off, but she couldn't help it. This was probably the first time she had looked forward to a long weekend so much.

"Great…" he said, appearing calm on the outside, but jumping around with glee like a little boy on the inside. It so happened that this was going to be a really long weekend, as both Friday _and _the following Monday were a holiday.

"So… I have no classes on Thursday, do you?" he asked, immediately all business as he began to plan their short break. She had to smile at the way he automatically took charge in every situation. She should hate it, but instead she found it rather cute and reassuring, that she didn't have to do everything in their relationship.

"Well, I do have classes on Thursday, but just a morning lecture. My afternoon is free," she supplied helpfully. Kyoya immediately whipped out his iPhone and began looking through his commitments for the day. "Well, we'll leave at two, after lunch. We'll probably get there between four and five," he finished. He kept his iPhone and looked at her expectantly.

She smiled sweetly. "That's fine, Kyoya. Wanna have lunch?" She leaned forward slightly, her arms resting on the table, and her blouse gaped open slightly. She continued smiling at him, not realizing the effect of her new position.

Kyoya's gaze moved downward and rested on the enticing shadow half-hidden by her shirt. He could just make out the top of her bra, and the soft flesh swelling above it.

His heart started to beat harder, both with excitement and the stress of remaining in control, of not reaching out with a grin and cupping the delicate, perfect flesh that had just revealed itself to him. Oh, my God, he thought helplessly. Why was it that although he usually managed to remain so in control, she inflamed him to the point where he was fantasizing about her just by catching an accidental glimpse of her cleavage?

Still, realizing it was ridiculous did no good. His cock got hard abruptly, straining against the front of his slacks. Shit, he thought as he slid under the table a little more, to hide his plight from the rest of the people in the cafeteria. He wondered idly what it would be like when he got her into his bed if just seeing that little bit of her was enough to make him react so strongly.

He had surely known, even fucked, girls much more voluptuous and, if one were to compare them to Shana objectively, far more beautiful, yet why was it that she was the only one who could make his mouth dry and his heart pound so easily? It made no sense, yet there it was.

Shana must have noticed something was off, because she frowned slightly. "Kyoya…? Are you all right? You look kind of flushed and spaced." She leaned closer over the table and put her hand to his face. "You're not feverish or anything…" she muttered. "Do you feel weak? Dizzy?" she asked. "Maybe it's just lack of sleep…" she mused.

It was a testament to his willpower and control that he managed to ignore the view that was blatantly on display to him, as well as the soft, gentle touch on his face, and croak out, "I'm fine, really. I'm just hungry."

Shana sat back down, looking slightly doubtful. "Oh," she said. "All right then."

They went to get their food from the counter, and began eating upon returning to their table. Kyoya noticed the enjoyment that Shana was deriving from the simple meal – rice, pickles and a few pork cutlets – and asked her about it. She smiled serenely. "Well, we're really lucky to have food that others may not. We should appreciate it, shouldn't we?"

Kyoya had never thought of it that way. He had always been so rich, he had never seen a need to appreciate food that way. Whatever he felt like, be it puffer fish, filet mignon, abalone, he got it. He'd seen what Haruhi lived like, but it had always seemed so far away.

When they finished lunch, Shana snuck a glance at the cafeteria's wall clock. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to be totally late! I'm so sorry, Kyoya, I have to go now!" She picked up all her things and made to leave, but she stopped next to his seat and kissed him lightly on the lips before leaving.

Kyoya stared after her, wearing a slightly bemused smile. Shana was such an interesting bundle of contradictions. Still, he would have a long weekend to start unraveling them, and he would be lying if he said he didn't much care that she had agreed to go to his beach villa with him. He could hardly wait.

"Hey, Shana, since Haruhi and I won't be around during this long weekend, what do you intend to do?" Kaori asked worriedly. She didn't like to think of Shana being alone during the long weekend.

Shana grinned in response. "Kyoya invited me to his beach villa! It's going to be so fun! I love the beach! But I haven't been there for a while… oh, dear. I'm going to need to get a new bikini," she mused, frowning. "Well, I guess we can hit the mall tonight," Haruhi said practically. "We don't have a lot of time to shop though, so let's hope we get lucky."

And so they did. On the second shop that they tried, they found a perfect two-piece. It was a light baby pink thong bikini. The cups of the top were held together in the middle by a metallic ring, and so were the sides of the thong. It was sexy without being slutty, and seemed innocent enough because of the colour.

Haruhi chuckled. "Hmm. I wonder how Kyoya will react to that…" she said, grinning. "Damn, I wish I was there."

Haruhi paid for the outrageously expensive swimsuit, and as they walked out, she grumbled, "Why is it that the less fabric there is on the bikini, the more it costs?" Still, she couldn't deny that she was pleased with the purchase.

When they got back to the dorm room, Haruhi and Kaori went into their room and Shana went into hers, praying that Chantelle wasn't there… to no avail. Chantelle turned as soon as she heard the door open. "Well hello, my dear roommate," Chantelle said sarcastically. "Long time no see!"

Then she caught sight of the bag Shana was holding. "You bought a _bikini_? For what! Are you fond of throwing your money away? No one wants to see you parading around campus in a bikini!"

Shana had had enough of Chantelle's insults. Against her better judgment, she said loftily, "Well, I won't be going around campus, I'll be on my boyfriend's beach!" Chantelle's eyes narrowed. "Your boyfriend's beach, eh? Do tell."

But Shana had said too much. The last thing she needed was Chantelle ruining everything she had built up with Kyoya, not that it was much. Her eyes narrowed as well. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm late for an appointment. Ta!" she said in a devil-may-care manner, thus dismissing Chantelle as she tossed the bag on her bed and walked out.

"God, why does that bitch hate me so much? What the hell did I do to her?" Shana fumed as she walked across the hallway to Haruhi and Kaori's room. She knocked and they immediately let her in. "Can I stay here tonight?" she asked. They immediately looked at each other and winced sympathetically. "Is Chantelle picking fights again?" Kaori asked. Shana rolled her eyes. "Yes. To be honest, I'm worried that she'll try to slit my throat while I'm sleeping. I really have no idea why she seems to have devoted herself to making my life miserable!"

"Guys? Apparently, Shana has procured a rich boyfriend. Any of you know who he is?" Chantelle asked. She had called up her sorority's landline to ask those of them who were staying at the sorority house. One of them, who had seen them at the cafeteria, said, "Well, I think it's Kyoya Ootori, I saw them together at lunch today."

"Kyoya Ootori, huh?" Chantelle mused. She was going to split them up, no matter what she had to do.

_Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter! Half of the stuff is probably redundant, but don't worry, I'm getting to the good stuff! Yes, Chantelle is going to be the main antagonist of the story. But don't worry! Despite everything she tries, Shana and Kyoya _will _get back together!_


	4. Chapter 4

The limousine sped smoothly along the road, as the town faded to the suburbs, and the suburbs faded to the country. Shana and Kyoya were on their way to his beach villa. Since the autumn chill was fast approaching, Shana was beginning to have doubts as to whether or not she would be able to wear her bikini, but she had brought it along anyway.

Shana could barely hide her discomfort at being in this opulent show of wealth. While she herself was no beggar, she could not say that she had ever been in a limo as large and as well-furnished as Kyoya's. There was a phone, a mini television, even a well-stocked mini-fridge. The seats were upholstered with the finest leather, and were soft and luxurious.

Kyoya and Shana kept up the small talk during the ride, helping to alleviate the discomfort and awkwardness that Shana felt. Still, Shana had to say she was glad to be out of the limo when they finally arrived.

"Ahhh," she moaned in pleasure as she stretched the stiff muscles. While the limo had been comfortable, she was not used to sitting down for such long periods of time. Kyoya watched her, his mouth quirking. Somehow, he found her every movement so adorable and yet so sexy… why was that? Shouldn't the two be mutually exclusive?

Shana was trying to act normal and nonchalant about the huge villa sitting in front of her, and she was extremely out of her depth here. When Kyoya had said 'beach villa', she had expected a house near the beach, with other houses near it, sort of like a beach rental chalet. This was totally different. It was a freaking mansion, right on a beach. There were no other houses nearby, and the beach was beautiful. Shana hadn't seen such a beautiful beach in Japan – ever.

"Um… so… this is a big house," she said. "Is the beach a private beach?" she asked, not sure what to expect, or even what she hoped the answer would be. Like most girls, she had dreamed of a rich man who would sweep her off her feet, but she wasn't sure if she wanted that dream to become reality.

"Of course it is, Shana," Kyoya answered in a tone that just screamed 'Are you an idiot? Why did you even ask that question!'

"Shall we go in?" he asked. "The servants will bring the luggage in. You should choose which room you want so that they can take your luggage to that room." Although Kyoya was being the epitome of politeness, Shana had thought that they would be sharing a room. She was rather disappointed that he had said they wouldn't, but she didn't say so.

Kyoya watched, fascinated, as the emotions and thoughts flickered across her face. He wondered if she was even aware that he could see what she was thinking. One thing that he didn't understand though, was the disappointment he saw. Was it because they weren't sharing a room?

He had hoped that she would want to, but he'd decided to err on the safe side – what if he scared her away? Still, having her near him might increase his chances of getting laid…

He grimaced inwardly at himself in disgust. Here he was, Kyoya Ootori, plotting how to take a woman to his bed, and resorting to such cheap methods. He could give anyone a poker face, no matter how they annoyed him. He would control himself. And maybe she would be so impressed by his restraint that she would…

_No!_ He screamed to himself. He would let Shana come to him when she was ready. He would not rush her. Only idiots and desperate fools rushed girls into their beds. He breathed deeply to calm himself. He would control his baser instincts if it killed him. He knew he would. There was no other option. He wouldn't scare her that way.

He noticed her watching the people unloading the luggage from the car – not that there was much of it, as they were only staying for a few days – and told her, "Don't worry, Shana. These people are only here to help us settle in. I've arranged for a cook to come in to make breakfast. She can make lunch to go at the same time, or make a full lunch for us if we feel like having lunch here. She comes in another time during dinner to cook for us. A few maids will come in in the middle of the day to make the beds and clean up a bit."

He hoped she wouldn't think he was too controlling, too organized. He knew some people said he was so organized he was like a robot with OCD, but being in control was a part of him.

Shana was, however, not annoyed. In fact, she rather admired how he could organize everything so well. She did think it was slightly disturbing that he managed to hide all his emotions behind that mask, but she figured she had plenty of time to change that. She didn't want him to feel like he had to hide anything from her.

The luggage was moved into the huge house and Kyoya saw no reason to continue standing outside. "Let's go in," he suggested. He almost laughed at the expression Shana gave him, one of anticipation and nervousness, and he took her hand and led her in.

As they walked through the enormous double door, Shana caught a glimpse of the villa, but nothing that prepared her for the opulence and lavishness of it. Just the entrance hall of the villa was huge. A large Persian carpet lay on the floor. At the end of the hallway, a grand staircase sat regally.

Kyoya led her up the stairs and told her, "You can pick any room but that one," pointing towards a closed door. "That's mine. Other than that, all the rooms in this wing are open for guests." She gasped. There had to be like eight rooms, including his. "Are you serious?" she asked.

He nodded and she immediately selected the one next to his. "I'd like that one, please," she said politely, as if she was ordering clothes in a store. He smiled and immediately told a nearby maid that she had chosen that room. The group of maids immediately got to cleaning the room, putting fresh sheets on the bed, and checking that nothing was lacking. When that was done, they moved Shana's bag into the room. "Will that be all, sir?" they asked Kyoya. "Yes, you may go now," he said, dismissing them.

They bowed politely and left. Kyoya smiled at Shana again. "Well, would you like a tour of the house?" he asked her teasingly. She blushed. Evidently he had noticed her ogling the fixtures when she had come in. However, although she wanted to see the rest of the house really badly, she had to admit that she wanted to see the beach even more. "I haven't been to the beach in _years_," she confessed, breathless with excitement.

He smiled at her indulgently. "Well, freshen up and we'll go," he told her. With an excited smile, she ran into her room and shut the door gently. Kyoya chuckled, before catching himself. What was happening to him? This girl, whether she knew it or not, was turning him into a bumbling idiot. The next thing you know, he would be blowing off important meetings with his companies' stockholders to cook for her, or some such frivolous, nonsensical way to waste his time.

Shaking his head at himself, he walked to his room, determined not to let her wrap him around her little finger. He would show her who was in charge if it was the last thing he did. Still, since she was so eager to see the beach, he would indulge her. His lips quirked into a smile. She was so cute and so sexy at the same time. It was something he would never understand.

Shana shut the door and giggled softly to herself as she hugged herself, running over to her bag. She unpacked some basic necessities and took them to the en suite bathroom with her. She washed her face, reapplied her lip gloss and mascara, and changed into flip flops.

"Kyoya!" she cried, bursting out of the room exuberantly. "Let's go!" She hadn't put on her swimsuit because she figured they had lots of time to go swimming and the like in the next few days – and besides, it was starting to get chilly.

Kyoya walked out of his room calmly. "Shall we go?" he said, offering her his arm. Grinning like an idiot, she took his arm and they left the villa together, in that manner.

The beach was beautiful. "Wow!" she exclaimed in shock. "I didn't know there were beaches this nice in Japan!" Since it was autumn, a cold wind blew past them as they stood on the beach. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Kyoya, noticing this, wrapped his arm around her so that she was pressed tightly around him and wouldn't be cold.

She smiled up radiantly at him. She couldn't believe how beautiful the beach was – and he had chosen to share it with her! She looked away from him for a moment to soak in the beauty of the nature – the soft, powdery, light yellow sand, the rocks that rose sharply from them, the few plants that were still alive. The sea was beautiful too. Since it was already autumn, the wind was making the waves rather choppy, and the tide was coming in. The dark, stormy colour of the sea was unlike anything that she had seen before – not that she'd had many experiences at the beach.

Still, she had to ask. "Is the sea always like that? I brought my swimsuit, and was looking forward to swimming in the sea!" She knew she sounded like a petulant child, but she couldn't help it – she could count the number of times she had on one hand.

Kyoya was surprised by how disappointed she'd sounded and felt. "Well, in the morning and early afternoon it's actually quite alright…" he told her. Before he could finish his sentence, she grinned, her eyes brightening. "Really? That's great!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Yeah… really great. His mind went totally overboard imagining the skimpy swimsuits she would wear – maybe she would wear a little white strapless thong bikini, which would become deliciously translucent after she frolicked in the waves for a while… Just imagining it almost gave him a killer nosebleed. His breath hissed in as his cock hardened in his pants in an instant. He didn't want to look down to rearrange his clothing, for he knew that that would surely bring her attention to his little predicament. What was he to do? He cursed his wayward body, even as a little part of him was amused that he, whom everyone had always said was made of stone, was now frantically trying to deal with an unwanted erection.

Unfortunately, things weren't going his way. Shana had heard his sharp intake of breath and looked at him, concerned. "Kyoya, are you feeling all right?" she asked, her brow furrowed. He smiled at her through the haze of pain and need. He wouldn't scare her away by making his rampant desire for her known. He wouldn't. He wouldn't… but at that moment, it was hard to remember why.

Still, he had to answer her question. "I'm all right…" he told her, trying to control his breathing. "Just a little chilly, is all," he told her, barely managing to hold on to his casual smile when what he wanted to do was to grab her, race back to the villa, and make love to her. It didn't matter where. Heck, he'd do it against the front door if he had to.

It seemed that things were going his way after all. Shana had bought his lame excuse and was starting to lead him back to the villa. "C'mon," she urged. "Let's go get some more clothes or something! It's not good to stand in the cold." Kyoya couldn't help but shake his head in amusement. "Weren't you cold about five seconds after stepping out of the villa?" he teased her, another new thing for him. She scowled at him. "Well, you were keeping me warm," she told him. "But I can't keep you warm, so we're going back!" He had to smile at that.

"Let's have dinner, huh?" he suggested. With all that was going on, neither of them had realised that it had gotten dark and everything. She stopped short and looked around. "Wow it really is night!" she observed, looking surprised. Her expression was so cute that Kyoya couldn't resist – he leaned down to kiss her, his lips brushing gently against hers.

They stood like that for a moment in the fading light, their foreheads pressed against each other, staring into each other's eyes like that. Finally, Kyoya realised how stupid this must look, and forced himself to step back slightly. "Let's go," he said, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close.

"Y-yeah, let's," she agreed, slightly shaken by what had just transpired. Nestled into his side, the two of them walked back the rest of the way together to eat a sumptuous dinner.

_Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a really long time! ): Hope this chapter is long enough for you… tried to make it a little longer than usual! (: I was actually thinking of tacking the next chapter onto the back of this one, but then I realised the theme changes. (: So, some intimate near-lemons are in store for you! :D_

_Cheers! _

_Peachy Hikaru_


	5. Chapter 5

What was going to happen next? That question hung heavy in the air as Kyoya and Shana stared at each other awkwardly when the dinner ended and the plates that had held their dessert were cleared. In an effort to alleviate the palpable tension in the room, Shana cleared her throat and said, "Well, that dinner was marvelous. Thanks for inviting me!" in a tone that was meant to be cheerful, but fell sadly short.

"I- I'm going to bed now," she said nervously, trying to escape from the steady gaze that Kyoya pinned on her, attempting to escape the inevitable. She pushed the chair back and stood up, laying her napkin on the table.

She was so focused on making her escape that she didn't realize Kyoya getting up and reaching across the table to grab her wrist. "Shana," he said in that deep voice of his, and it was over for her.

Slowly, she turned to look at him, gulping inwardly at the intent look in his black eyes, for once not obscured by the reflection on his glasses. She knew what was going to happen next, and she wasn't sure whether to be excited or scared by it.

It was a mental debate that took a grand total of a few seconds. She knew that she cared about Kyoya and would give herself to him without reservations. She met his gaze, and something in her expression must have tipped him off to the decision that she had come to, because for a moment, everything froze – Shana stared at him, and he stared at her, the desire and intensity in his eyes burning into her, searing her. She knew she should be terrified – instead, some part of her _was _terrified, but it was out-weighted by the part of her that was yelling in anticipation, "_Yippee!_"

Then everything started to move in high speed. Kyoya came around the table in a few seconds and pulled her against him, before backing her against the wall. He pressed his mouth to hers hungrily. It wasn't a gentle, sweet kiss. It was raw, primal. His need poured into her through the kiss, infusing her with passion and lust. Caught up in the moment, she kissed him back, her lips unschooled but learning fast under his.

When Kyoya felt her response, unhesitant but so inexperienced he knew immediately that she was innocent, it only inflamed him further, causing him to shove his tongue into her mouth and conduct a thorough investigation of the inside of it.

Shana was confused at first when she felt his tongue probing at the inside of her mouth, stroking hers, but she was quickly emboldened by the need and desperation that she felt pouring off him. She followed his example and slowly licked at his lips with her tongue, asking for entrance silently.

Groaning into her mouth, Kyoya could do none other than give in to her silent request. She stroked his tongue with hers, unsure of what to do now that she had gained entrance to his mouth.

It was only the undeniable need to breathe that made Kyoya break the kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers, panting. The need had flared so fast that he'd been unable to control it, something that would probably upset him later, but right now he didn't care about anything but having her under him, naked, so he could plunge into her again and again until it removed the edge from the need that was burning him alive.

He shuddered with need as he closed his eyes, trying to restrain himself, fighting against the elemental need to take her _now_, and end the pain that twisted through his body viciously. Unable to stop himself, he rubbed his swollen cock, sheathed by his slacks. He hissed as he felt the friction against his cock, stimulating it further.

Hearing the sound of his pain, Shana opened her eyes and watched him, brow furrowed in concern. "Kyoya?" she asked softly, brushing his hair out of his face, where it had fallen. Had he changed his mind? Had she been too bold? What if she had done something wrong? She didn't want him to stop. She tried apologizing. "Kyoya, I'm sorry," she said.

She sounded so miserable that Kyoya's eyes opened in shock. "Wha- why are you apologizing, my love?" he asked her, his voice still tight with need. Shana mistook the need in his voice for annoyance, and she barely stopped the tears from welling in her eyes. She never cried, but she felt so panicky inside at the terrible thought that she had made him angry.

Kyoya suddenly realized why she looked so upset. She'd thought he was angry at her! The thought was so unfathomable that he almost began laughing, but he knew that wouldn't pacify her in the least, so he unclenched his fists and tipped her chin up so she was facing him. She still avoided his gaze, so he kissed her again, gently, letting none of the need that had ruled him before show.

"Baby, I'm not angry with you!" he told her gently, lovingly. Her eyes met his and stayed. "I- I-" he tried to choke out the truth, that he had wanted her too much, and he was losing the internal battle to be gentle, if not stop entirely, but he couldn't seem to say the words, so he settled for kissing her again, keeping a tight rein on his desire, but letting her know that he did, indeed, want her.

Of their own accord, Shana's hands went to his hair, and she pulled him closer to her, never wanting this wonderful moment to end. But, of course, it did – as Kyoya moved downwards, kissing and licking the tender flesh of her neck and throat, as she laid her head against the wall and moaned in delight.

Her moans seemed to inflame Kyoya even more, and he started to remove her T-shirt when it abruptly came back to him that they were in the dining room, dammit, and this was _not _the place to make love to Shana for the first time. "Shana?" he said, nipping at her neck again. Her flesh was so sweet, he could live off it his entire life.

Her eyes fluttered open, and the dazed look of pleasure she gave him nearly made him lose it again, but he was determined to make her first time as pleasurable and memorable as possible, and to do that, he definitely needed her in a bed.

Shana opened her eyes and regarded him with confusion. Why had he stopped again? He had been doing such pleasurable things with his hands and mouth – who knew her neck was so sensitive? – and all of a sudden he had stopped. She looked into his eyes and saw a reflection of the desire that pounded so strongly in her body and throbbed between her legs, yet he had just… stopped, like nothing of significance had happened.

When Kyoya saw the confusion in her eyes that clouded the desire, he told her, "I won't take you here, in the dining room. We'll have a proper bed," in that sexy determined voice that meant he was trying his hardest for her, although it required lots of effort on his part. She giggled. She couldn't help it. When she saw the amount of restraint he was putting in for her, she was filled with a happiness that made her feel like floating.

"Well, then, let's go!" he said, grasping his hand in hers and pulling him along. Her joy was infectious. Through a haze of need, Kyoya found the ability to laugh with her as they raced towards his bedroom.

Another time, Shana would have been amazed at the decadence of his room, but now the only thing she noticed was the four-poster canopy bed. As she stared at it in amazement, thoughts of what he was going to do to her on them flashed through her mind, making her blush, though not only in embarrassment.

Kyoya saw her blush as she looked at his bed and knew that her store of bravado and courage had just been used up. He was still throbbing with need that threatened to split his pants and his head, but the love he felt for her restrained the blind lust, restoring his veneer of civilization.

He pulled her to him and kissed her, careful to keep the kiss gentle, and not rough and needy like it had been before. The need was still pouring off him in hot waves, but he made an effort to restrain his baser instincts, to make their first time something other than a crazed, frenzied mating.

The lights hadn't been turned on, but that was just fine with them. The moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the room.

Kyoya backed Shana towards the bed, before gently pushing her down so she lay half on the bed, half off, her knees bent and her toes touching the floor. Not content to be passive, she sat up and began unbuttoning Kyoya's shirt, and with every button she undid, she revealed more of Kyoya's chiseled body. Surprisingly, Kyoya had somehow found the time to work out enough to get a firm six-pack.

When she finally undid all the buttons, she knelt on the bed so she could brush the shirt off his shoulders, and for a moment, she simply sat there, drinking in the sight of him. He wasn't very tanned, but he _was_ well muscled, not the bulging muscles of a wrestler but the sleek muscles of a swimmer. Dark hair spread across his pecs in a diamond shape, nipple to nipple, before thinning out as it formed a line down his belly, then thickening again before it disappeared into his pants.

Kyoya, shirtless now, pulled Shana's shirt off hastily, before moving on to her jeans, which he undid then pulled off in quick, desperate tugs, before tossing them to a distant corner of the room to be forgotten by both of them until much later.

This was the first time Kyoya had ever seen Shana's naked – or almost naked – body. She was wearing a lacy white bra that was kind of translucent, so he could see the darkened area that was her nipples, and his gaze traveled downwards to her smooth, flat belly, her tiny waist and flared hips, to her matching lace panties, which covered her sex, the most private part of her body, that he was going to be very familiar with soon.

One thing that confused him, though, was that the soft curls decorating her mound were… black? His eyes traveled back to hers, and she laughed at his confusion. "Did you think I was a natural blonde?" she asked indulgently. Kyoya should have been turned off by the artificial colouring, but instead it just made him even more intrigued; why had she dyed her hair? However, that question would have to wait. His erection was making its presence very noticeable in his pants.

Shana tangled her fingers in his chest hair, playing with it, smoothing her fingers over it, and when her palm accidentally brushed his nipple, he hissed in mixed pleasure and pain. Her eyes flickered to his for a moment, assessing. When she had determined that he had enjoyed it, she ran her fingers over his nipples again, and Kyoya, the calm one, was having trouble controlling himself.

Kyoya knew he really was going to lose it when Shana leaned down to tongue his nipples. The feel of her rough cat tongue rasping over his sensitized nipples nearly sent him over the edge. He forced himself to set her away from him before he lost it completely.

Shana pouted for a moment at being set aside, but then set to industriously removing his slacks, unbuttoning and unzipping his fly before pulling them down and off his legs, her arm muscles delineating as she did so.

She was licking her lips as she reached for his erection and he knew he had to stop her, reluctant though he might have been. He bent down to remove her bra, fiddling with the clasps, but he was so eager to get it off that he was unable to undo the clasp, and he just got more annoyed, growling under his breath. Of course, Shana heard and felt his frustration, since his head was right next to hers, and giggled before undoing it herself.

Once they had dispensed with the bra, Kyoya hooked his fingers in her panties and pulled them off in one swift move. Staring at the dark curls that nestled there, he had to fight again to keep from pouncing on her. He took a deep breath to compose himself and lowered himself onto her. When his skin came into contact with hers, a bolt of electricity sizzled from her skin and all though his body, shocking him and magnifying his desire, like a spark that had been lit into a conflagration.

Unable to help himself any longer, he gently spread her legs while praying that she would be wet enough to minimize the pain that he was about to inflict on her – he knew that she wasn't ready and it had probably been some time since she'd last had sex, so it would definitely hurt her.

Urging her to wrap her legs around him, he positioned himself then pushed into her, gritting his teeth at the resistance that he met. His fists clenched as he fought to sink in without hurting her too much. She was hot and wet and tight and felt like living ecstasy around him, squeezing him almost to the point of pain.

He felt her stiffen under him but could not stop, a fact that he was sure he would resent later. When he reached her barrier of innocence, however, he stopped at blinked at her owlishly, for his glasses had long been discarded. "You're… a virgin?" he asked, almost unable to believe it. She glared at him. "Yes," she said in a vaguely annoyed tone, as though it was totally obvious and he should be shot for doubting her innocence.

He had to grit his teeth as he told her, "It's going to hurt for a minute but it'll be okay. I promise I'll try my very best not to go too fast and make it worse." Then he closed his eyes, clenched his fists on either side of her head even harder and pushed past her hymen gently, till he was seated in her to the hilt.

"Oh, God," he moaned. "Oh, bloody hell." He wasn't a saint. How could anyone expect him to stay still while in her, with his blood draining out of his head and into his erection, and he clasping folds enveloping him?

"Shana," he gasped out. "Can I move?" he asked, gritting his teeth in an effort to restrain himself, but almost against his will, he began to thrust, slowly at first, but gradually gaining speed. He wasn't sure how Shana was reacting to it, but he hoped and prayed that she was enjoying it, because selfish brute that he was, he couldn't stop.

When he'd asked Shana that question, she had almost misunderstood him, for her brain wasn't working properly. The pain that had come from him breaching her for the first time had faded quickly, to be replaced by pleasure and a renewed desire for him that clouded her mind and made her slightly slow on the uptake. She was unable to respond for a moment, having lost her voice, but when Kyoya started moving, almost against his will, she knew what her answer was.

Kyoya thrust into her helplessly, the long slow strokes shortening and becoming faster, until he was slamming home deep and hard, actually managing to shake the enormous bed with the amount of force he was putting into each thrust.

"Holy shit, Shana, you're amazing," he muttered to her under his breath, his face buried in her neck as he fought not to come too early and embarrass himself. It wasn't working. Shana wasn't there yet and if he didn't come soon, he was sure his cock and balls were going to explode. His cock was larger than it had ever been, and his balls had drawn up high and tight against his body. It was taking everything he had not to come in this instant.

As a desperate last measure, he slipped a hand in between their bodies, where they were connected in the most intimate way possible, and stroked her there, at the slick heart of her, where she was most sensitive. He stroked, pressed gently, and she came, arching against him and crying out, caught in the throes of ecstasy, her inner walls clasping and unclasping around him, squeezing him till he groaned and came too, with almost painful jets of pleasure flooding her, and prolonging her orgasm.

Kyoya was so exhausted that he collapsed on top of her and fell asleep. Shana should have protested his weight on her slight frame, but it felt – right, somehow, so she hugged him closer to herself and fell asleep too, under him. There were so many things that would come inevitably, but now, at this moment in time, there was only the two of them.

_ Hey guys! Woohoo, I made a passable lemon! Well, at least I think it's passable! Hehe. I'm really sorry for making you guys wait so long! D: Ooh and I have an idea! :D How about I create a Facebook page! (: Like, for you guys to post things and chat and whatever. Because you know I really love getting reviews and interacting with you guys! (: You can even nag me to write faster. :P And I'm really sorry I'm going to make you do this but if I get 5 reviews telling me to set up the Facebook page I will and in the next chapter, I'll include the link._

_Please R&R! I love you all! _

_XOXO, Peach_


	6. Chapter 6

Two hours later, Kyoya woke up, the stifling heat in the room making it too uncomfortable for him to sleep anymore. Stumbling out of bed, he contemplated turning on the air-conditioner, but decided to open the windows to let in the crisp autumn air instead.

As he stood at the window, watching Shana sleep, almost lost in his giant king-sized bed, a bone-deep contentment stole into him. Smiling to himself, he remembered the explosive sex that they'd had – and froze. He'd forgotten to use birth control. How could he have done something like that?

He knew that he was disease-free, and being a virgin, she certainly was too, but what if he got her pregnant? Shockingly, the thought didn't seem to bring him much alarm… in fact, at the thought of her body round with his child, he started to get hard again.

What was wrong with him? With Shana, all his steely resolve and mathematical, almost emotion-less decisions that had served him so well in the past just turned into vapour. He found himself doing stupid things, things which should appal him, but the only thing he found was anticipation. If she was pregnant, he would marry her. It was as simple as that. Maybe he would marry her anyway.

It was that conviction which alarmed him. He shouldn't be feeling this way about anyone, least of all this girl. He'd never felt that way before, like he would throw anything and everything away for her, and it scared him. This had never been a part of his life plan. It had been so simple. He'd marry a trophy wife, maybe the daughter of some rich mogul, who would help him build his empire and surpass his two older brothers.

Shana was something he'd never factored in. Love? For Kyoya Ootori, who had a heart like granite? It had seemed like the unthinkable, yet here it was.

Further proving his point, he shoved all his concerns to the back of his mind and made his way back to the bed. His concerns might be valid, but he knew that he had to steal as much time as he could with her. Any other course was unthinkable. She gave him so much that he'd never thought about, never knew existed. Solace, laughter, true happiness. Not even with Tamaki and the host club had he felt as free.

The wind blowing in through the huge windows he'd opened was chilly, and he picked her up so he could spread the comforter on top of her. He smiled wryly as he stared at the mess they'd made of the bed. The pillows were all over the place, some even on the floor, and the sheets were askew. He snuggled up next to her and pulled the comforter up to his chin and wrapped his arms around her.

In this position, he fell asleep almost instantly, with the girl he loved in his arms and everything right with the world.

The sunlight shone into the room, dispelling any remaining cold and forcing itself behind Shana's eyelids. Groaning, she opened her eyes. If that was Chantelle trying to make her long holiday miserable, she would gut that bitch – wait. This wasn't her dorm. And it wasn't her bed she was lying on.

In a flash, it all returned to her. The beach villa. The amazing sex. Which had… ended with… him spilling his seed into her womb. She gasped suddenly as she wrapped her arms around her belly protectively. What if his seed took root? They were way too young to be parents! Would she be able to raise her child by herself if he decided he didn't want to be the baby's father? She knew that Kyoya would probably take care of her, but could she stand to see the love in his eyes for her fade into resentment that she and the child were pulling him back, distracting him and causing him to be less than he could.

She took a deep breath and began counting in her head the number of days left till her next period, and sighed in relief. She was fairly regular, and she was too far from her next period that there was even a chance of her getting pregnant. She had freaked out over nothing. Still, they had to be sure to use birth control. Maybe she'd go on the pill or something…

She sighed. How could she have been so swept away with lust that she'd forgotten to use contraception? She sighed. Still… a blush tinted her cheeks faintly as she remembered last night. It had been all that she'd anticipated and more, surpassing any of the romance novels she'd ever read.

She turned and came face to face with a sleeping Kyoya, who, in sleep, lost all of his sternness and looked so boyish. A lock of hair had fallen over one eye, and she reached up to brush it away. Her fingers lingered on his brow, and she stroked them over his cheeks, admiring his aristocratic cheekbones, before they lingered on his lips.

There were full and soft, and she smiled to herself as she remembered how well he knew how to use them to his advantage. She wondered if he had ever showed this softer side of himself to the Host Club, then decided that he couldn't have, or else Haruhi wouldn't have had that strong reaction when she'd heard that Shana was dating Kyoya.

Just then, Kyoya's eyes opened. Staring into his black eyes, swirling pools of onyx, Shana was once again amazed at how someone as normal as her could have snagged someone as smart and rich as Kyoya. She wasn't sure if it would last, so she made a resolution there and then to enjoy every second that she could of the time she had with him.

"Good morning," he said in a sleep-husky voice. For a moment he had reacted badly, not remembering who it was curled up against him and touching his face in such an intimate manner, till he remembered. A smile played on his lips – he was rather proud of himself.

Of course, he had lost his control at the end… He frowned slightly at that memory. "Are you sore?" he asked, concerned. He'd heard that sometimes virgins were sore after their first time, and he didn't wish to push her too fast, too far.

At his question, Shana blushed slightly and pressed her face into his neck. "A little," she admitted, her voice slightly muffled. Then she pulled her face away from his neck and stared up at him, her eyes wide. "We need to get condoms!" she exclaimed.

Kyoya regarded her with an amused expression. How delightfully refreshing that someone would want to prevent herself from having his child. He could hardly count the number of women who'd thrown themselves at him since he'd been fifteen, hoping to have his child so that he would marry them, or at the very least, put them up comfortably. The first person whom he'd actually forgotten to use birth control with was, ironically, the first person who didn't want his seed.

"We'll drive out to town today and get some," he said flippantly, before rolling out of bed and standing by it to stretch luxuriously, unabashed in his glorious nudity.

Shana watched him stretch, all that lean and sinewy muscle flexing and stretching as he did so, and barely refrained from licking her lips in appreciation. His blatant unselfconsciousness with his naked body was… erotic and slightly scary at the same time, throwing her slightly off-kilter and making her cling to him tighter in an effort to maintain balance.

She pushed the covers off her and got up too, stretching next to him. "I better go back to my room!" she exclaimed, picking up all her clothes. Since it was only a short walk down the hallway to her room and she was pretty sure that the entire villa was empty, other than them, she figured she was pretty safe.

She walked into her room and nudged it closed with her hip, since her arms were full with her clothes. She dumped them on the floor near the suitcase and walked into the en suite bathroom, grinning to herself in the mirror.

As she watched herself in the mirror, she suddenly realised that she hadn't known Kyoya for that long, only a few weeks – and here she was with him in his beach villa, all alone, and she'd actually _slept _with him last night. Her brow furrowed.

What if he thought she was easy, or worse, a slut? What if he didn't actually hold her in any esteem? She frowned at herself in the mirror. She'd even dyed her hair blonde, and although she didn't have the usual attributes that blondes did, she was well aware of the stereotypes that blondes – especially bottle blondes – had created. She didn't even have the usual reasons! Tears almost welled up in her eyes. She really liked Kyoya and she thought that they might have a chance, but not if he didn't respect her.

"Idiot," she whispered to herself. Still, what was done was done, and she might as well enjoy whatever time she had left. She picked up her toothbrush, remembered that she hadn't brushed her teeth last night, and grimaced as she started brushing, suddenly aware of the sour taste in her mouth.

After she was done, she changed into her bikini, then pulled a T-shirt and shorts over it.

As she went down for breakfast, she wondered what Kyoya would think about her bikini, then realised that it didn't matter – she had bought the bikini for herself and she did like it.

At the breakfast table, Kyoya was reading the paper and sipping coffee. When she entered, he glanced up, mid-sip, saw her and smiled, putting down the paper. A huge breakfast lay on the table – scrambled eggs, bacon and ham, toast, pancakes, jugs of milk and orange juice.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "Why is there so bloody much food? Are there like ten other people coming for breakfast?" she said incredulously. How could they possibly finish so much food? She shuddered, thinking about the wastage.

"Maybe we can pack some of it when we go out to the beach…" Shana said, eyeing the food as she picked up the serving spoon and scooped some eggs onto her plate, then took the tongs lying by the side of the heaps of food to grab bacon and ham. She poured milk into one of her glasses and juice into another, and picked up her milk and drank deeply.

Kyoya watched in amusement as she dug into her food with gusto, as he half-heartedly shovelled some food onto his own plate. She was probably a lot hungrier than she'd realised, as love-making did whet one's appetite. Still, as she went back for seconds, taking pancakes and drizzling syrup all over them, before adding a dollop of butter, he couldn't help but wonder where she stored all that food on her tiny frame.

When she went back for thirds, he stared at her in amazement. She took yet more eggs and bacon and some sausages. When she finally finished and picked up her glass of juice, downing it in a few gulps, she sighed and leaned back, replete. It was only then that she noticed that he was watching her with a small smile on his face, and she blushed.

"What?" she asked in a small voice. She knew she had a voracious appetite, as opposed to most of the anorexic girls he probably knew… did he find that unattractive?

Her doubts were quickly put to rest when he smiled at her and told her, "You eat so much. I like it a lot. It's so refreshing."

They packed up what was left of breakfast in a basket, which earned a "How quaint!" from Shana, before heading off to the beach with a waterproof bag of items like a blanket and other things.

Outside, the weather was beautiful, despite it being autumn. It was warm enough that Shana could go into the water without contracting hypothermia, and cool enough that they wouldn't be uncomfortable.

Shana spread the blanket, then hastily pulled her clothes off and danced into the sea, giggling like a child. It had been such a long time since she'd been to the beach, she'd lost count of the number of years it had been.

Watching her, Kyoya smiled as he shucked his clothes too, and ran into the water after her, rejoicing in the feeling of absolute abandonment. It felt so decadent, to throw his cares into the wind for just a few days and enjoy himself fully.

However, one thing that he could not ignore was that Shana seemed different after their lovemaking last night, almost as if she was holding back that part of herself that had responded so freely to him so she wouldn't react that way again, and he didn't like it.

Even at lunch, when they'd kissed and enjoyed each other's company as they ate together, with his head on Shana's lap, he could see that remoteness in her eyes, almost as if she was afraid that he would see something he wasn't supposed to.

Finally, at dinner, he gathered up the resolve to broach the subject.

"Shana, you've been acting odd all day. What's wrong?" he asked gently. To his surprise, her face shuttered. "No, I haven't been acting weird," she said, almost on autopilot. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

_Do you guys all hate me? xD Sorreh! But the next part is a big and important part in the story, where Shana's history comes into the light! I hope I succeeded in making you guys wonder what was with Shana dying her hair since she doesn't seem like that kind of person and everything. Teehee. (: I thought it should have a chapter all to itself, so you guys have to wait a little longer!_

_Oh yes, about the Facebook page! I went ahead to create it although I only got 2 reviews so far… -_- well I assume one wasn't just random spam since all it said was '1', and it wasn't signed. The page is titled 'Peachy Hikaru', and the picture is my profile pic! :D No one liked it yet. ): Sigh. Ah well._

_POST ON THE WALL! I ALWAYS WELCOME FEEDBACK THROUGH ANY CHANNEL! Oh yes, and happy belated CNY/Valentines! :P_

_Cheers!_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	7. Chapter 7

Shana stood up, pushing her chair back so violently that it wobbled and almost fell. She gathered her cutlery and crockery and walked towards the kitchen, deliberately avoiding his gaze.

"Let's go for a walk, " she said stiffly when she came out. He knew he'd broached a sensitive topic, but he'd never expected her to react this strongly. Grabbing their jackets – it was chilly, and she was obviously distracted.

Before the stepped out, Kyoya handed her her jacket, and she accepted it wordlessly, giving him a silent smile of thanks.

They walked side-by-side along the beach quietly for about a kilometre, as Shana tried to gather the courage to tell him what she had to say. She had never told anyone what she was about to tell Kyoya, partially because she didn't want them to look at her any differently, but also because she didn't want to dredge up memories.

Kyoya watched her out of the side of his eye, wishing he knew what she was thinking. This was one of the few times when he didn't have a clue what was going to come next, and he found he didn't like the feeling at all. Why was it only Shana that could tie him in knots like that?

Shana abruptly sat down on a rocky outcrop, staring at the ocean, her eyes deep inky pools of mystery as she frantically tried to sort all her memories out so she could tell a coherent story, instead of the jumbled mess that they had become where she'd shoved them into the back of her mind.

"It's a long story," she finally said, and winced at the clichéd beginning. Still, what did it matter? She took a deep breath before speaking again. "Well, my parents wanted a son. I was, from the time of my creation, a disappointment to them. My father wanted an heir, and regarded me as a failure. He didn't want to have to spend more time than he had to looking at what he saw as the biggest failure of his life, so he started spending more and more time away from home.

"My mother resented me because they were a loving couple before I was born. She blamed it all on me being the wrong gender. So she was cruel and abusive to me, sometimes forgetting to feed me, and slapping me around without much provocation. If I so much as argued with her over anything, even my bedtime, I would be smacked.

"As soon as I was old enough, they hired nannies to do everything for me – take me out, feed me, and buy me clothes, though never the extravagance that they reserved only for themselves. I bought clothes not at Gucci Baby, or Bonpoint, but at little shops in Harajuku, and each piece cost about a thousand yen. Compare that to what they were spending on themselves – Gucci, Chanel, Diesel, and all sorts of imported brands.

"Of course, there were times when they had to show off what a loving family we were when they needed to invite people over for business dinners and the like. I liked those the best because although I knew it was fake, for that period of time I could pretend like we were a real family and they really cared about me, because they'd hug me and joke with me and they'd even go buy me a nice outfit to show everyone how well they took care of me."

Shana turned to look at Kyoya, to see how he was taking her story. She could detect no expression on his face, which worried her somewhat. Was he going to do something stupid?

Unbeknownst to her, Kyoya was struggling with a maelstrom of angry emotions – how could her parents have treated her so coldly and callously? He was about to open his mouth to say something, but thought better of it, and anyway, Shana had started talking again.

"Still, I tried to make them love me. I was good, I ate all my vegetables, I was the smartest girl in class. I scored the best for every exam, and I tried to be as sweet to them as I could." Shana swallowed, remembering the little girl she'd been then, starved and desperate for parental affection.

"Then, when I was seven, a miracle finally occurred. My mother somehow managed to give birth to a healthy baby boy. My father had his heir, and my mother had redeemed herself in his eyes. They became the quintessential little family. From then on, they were no longer mean or violent to me – they just ignored me.

"As a result of that, I suppose, I became very competitive in school, because that was the only time where I could feel that I was significant to anyone. I didn't mind getting a seventy-four percent on a test if everyone else got seventy-three. That made some people very resentful towards me, and I was rather isolated.

"I was just fine with that, because by that time I was pretty independent anyway. Still, I did feel a twinge of envy when I saw the other girls walking around, laughing and giggling in their cliques. And it _was _kind of lonely. But I got used to it.

"Well, my family couldn't care less about how I fared in school, but I couldn't go around getting pregnant and everything, or creating big scandals that would potentially harm the family's reputation. They would still have to show the world what a nice and bonded family we were because it was expected – after all, who wants to do business with someone who treats their children badly when there are so many others? They would take us out on outings and holidays, and after taking a few pictures, they would leave me to my own devices. They would also tell me about the horrors of unwed pregnancy, and insinuate that if I were to have sex out of wedlock everyone would lose all respect for me. I don't really know why I listened to them, but I always thought that you had to be married or something to have sex.

She fingered her hair. "And did you wonder why I dyed my hair? Well, at the end of high school, I was really tired of the digs I got for being Plain Jane, so I decided to try being a blonde, to see if blondes really have more fun. It was a whim, but I think it worked pretty well. Now I have some good friends," she said softly, warmth blossoming inside her as she thought of Kaori and Haruhi.

Having finished her story, she turned to Kyoya, wondering how he would take it. Would his gaze, which once smouldered at her with desire, now change to a pitying one? She had meant it when she'd said she was fiercely independent, and that included a pride that would not take kindly to being pitied by anyone. If he reacted that way, could she deal with it? She had a feeling that she couldn't stay with anyone who didn't look at her as an equal.

She was almost afraid to look at Kyoya for fear of what she would see in his eyes.

She didn't need to. Kyoya turned towards her, tipped her chin up, and kissed her gently. "What they did doesn't matter," he murmured to her against her lips. "You have me, and all your friends, and no one is going to judge you based on what your asshole parents did."

Buoyed by his assurances, Shana smiled as she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him back. "You are the best boyfriend ever," she whispered in his ear, before kissing him again.

The kiss quickly grew more heated, as their passion was still new and sharp. Kyoya's tongue thrust gently into Shana's mouth, further igniting Shana's passions.

Before things got too heated, Kyoya tore his mouth from Shana's. "We can't, not here," he gasped, his breathing laboured with arousal and restraint. He wanted to bear her down and take her right there, on the sand, but he knew that the sand would get everywhere, and that would be uncomfortable for the both of them tomorrow.

Giggling like children, the two raced back to the villa, more out of urgency to feel each other pressed against themselves, than out of a desire to win the race. When they got back, Kyoya and Shana helped each other out of their jackets, and then moved to the bedroom.

"Wait," Shana said, as a thought abruptly struck her. "The birth control…" she trailed off, knowing Kyoya would understand. He smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. I got my housekeeper to get some condoms. Tomorrow you should go and get morning-after pills if it'll make you feel safer."

With that, he walked to the table, where a pack of condoms rested. He shook them, suddenly feeling very reluctant to use them, and carried them to the bedside table, before taking her in his arms again.

That night, their lovemaking was sweet and gentle, Kyoya trying his best to show her that he cared for her.

He forced himself to use birth control that night, although for the first time, he bitterly resented the thin layer separating the two of them. He managed to bring the both of them to a rousing climax despite it, though, and some time after they had both reached their peaking, he recovered enough to stand on shaky legs and dispose of the condom, as well as clean himself up some.

He returned to the bed and snuggled against Shana, hugging her to him, desiring the physical contact in a way that was not carnal in intent.

As Shana burrowed into Kyoya's warmth, and felt that someone truly cared for her, she felt the bitterness that had hardened into a hard ball in her heart from the way her parents had treated her when she was a child melt away, to be replaced by a bliss that flooded her insides with a warm feeling, almost as if she was being dipped in honey.

Long after she'd fallen asleep, though, Kyoya sat awake, pondering the changes that Shana had wrought in him. While they were not all bad, some of them certainly were so great as to be alarming. He stroked Shana's back as he reflected, and the changes in him disturbed him more and more, as he thought about them.

_Hey guys!~ Yay, I finished this big, important chappie! I'm sorry there's no lemon though, I'm still worn out from writing the previous one. Haha. (: Hope you enjoyed, please R&R! And no, I'm not anywhere near done with them, this story is going to be longer than First Love, definitely! And I'm going to be skipping time in a few chappies, so be on the lookout and stay fast on the uptake! I really hope this story turns out well, it combines a few of my fave elements in a love story! 3 Haha._

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	8. Chapter 8

"Gosh, time flies," Shana remarked as they sat in the limo on the way back to campus. "I mean, I know it's cliché and everything, but sheesh! Tomorrow lessons are going to start again," she complained.

She was tucked up against Kyoya, watching the scenery pass by as they sped along the roads and back to the campus. Their time at the beach had been something that Shana was sure that she would never forget. For the first time, she had truly felt as though she was loved and cared for, and that was a priceless gift to her, the little girl who had been left alone by those who should have treasured her beyond all else.

All too soon, the limo pulled up to the driveway of her dorm building, and Shana sighed. She would have liked to stay with Kyoya forever, sheltered from the rest of the world, but that wasn't going to happen and it was time to go back to real life.

When she got down, Kyoya followed her, and together they unloaded her stuff and brought it to her room. As they stood in the corridor while Shana fumbled for her key, she was frantically praying that Chantelle was out. She cringed just thinking about the horrible crap that Chantelle would pile on her, and she wasn't ready to get that cold shock, especially with Kyoya here.

Her prayers had evidently been heard, because when she opened the door, the mercifully empty room was revealed. But it wasn't as she had left it. Everything she owned had been taken out of her closet and drawers, and strewn on her half of the room.

She winced as she looked at Kyoya. "Um… you can just put the stuff there," she said, gesturing vaguely at an area of the room. Inwardly, she was freaking out. What the hell had Chantelle done? This spitefulness was low even for her. And what was Kyoya going to think?

But when she looked at Kyoya, she saw to her shock that he was texting someone. When he was done, he looked up at her and gave her a grim smile. "Your roommate's work?" he asked. When she nodded, he told her, "I told the chauffeur to leave first. You definitely need help with clearing up this mess."

Kyoya was filled to the brim with cold rage. How could someone be so mean? This almost surpassed the coldness he had been privy to – had even exhibited – in his life. Still, he didn't display his emotion.

Shana, on the other hand, was cursing as she stomped over to her closet and pulled it open forcefully. "Fucking bitch," she muttered under her breath when she saw that her closet had been filled with Chantelle's clothes and shoes. Her drawers were filled with Chantelle's jewellery and knickknacks, and her half of the dresser was cluttered with Chantelle's makeup and perfume.

"Well…" Shana commented nervously, "Looks like Chantelle wasted no time claiming the room while I was away." She wasn't scared of Kyoya's reaction to this, she was just afraid for Chantelle. She hoped that Kyoya wouldn't do something really bad like crush her family members' careers or something. She knew he probably would, and it should definitely be unpalatable to her, but it was just so sweet that she thought she might as well indulge him for a bit.

As Fate would have it, Chantelle decided to walk in right at that moment. Without missing a beat, Kyoya smoothly introduced himself. "Good afternoon. I am Ootori Kyoya, Shana's boyfriend, and you are…?" His tone may have been cordial, but the look in his eyes was anything but. His eyes bored into Chantelle's, boldly sizing her up.

"Ch-Chantelle Rose Harrison," she stuttered, the look in his eyes shocking her for a moment. She slid a sly glance towards Shana before flicking her hair behind her shoulder in a graceful move, before sliding her hand down to her hip, which she cocked in an effort to look sultry.

"So, you're Shana's new boyfriend?" she asked in a flirty voice. "Well, I'd say you could do much better than her," she said, shamelessly showing off her curves in the hope of enticing Kyoya away from Shana.

"And you're Shana's roommate?" he asked stonily, totally unaffected by the show she was treating him to. Disconcerted, she blinked once before nodding. He smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Good, then you know what caused this mess?" he asked, gesturing at Shana's things tossed about the room.

When she stared at him blankly, he smiled again. "Well, thing like that happen. Maybe it was just someone who dislikes Shana who decided to sneak in while you were out to mess with her. In that case, I trust you'll be a good roommate and help her to move her things back?" he said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Chantelle could see that he knew she was guilty of moving her stuff into Shana's closets, and didn't see a way out of this hole she had dug herself. Resentfully she muttered her acquiesce. "Good then," Kyoya said, smiling at her. He was no fool. He knew that when he left, Chantelle would tear into Shana.

When Chantelle stared at him expectantly, he raised a brow at her. "Yes?" he said, sounding slightly amused. He knew she was expecting him to leave, and he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. No, he would show her that no one messed with him or his. He was well aware that she couldn't kick him out of the room, and he was intending to make full use of that.

"Well… shall we start?" he said, gesturing towards the mess.

It was awkward and Chantelle was humiliated and angry. Pretending that none of them knew Chantelle had done all this was emotionally tolling, and she wanted nothing more than to scream at both of them, but she had to stay and play his game. It was now a matter of pride – if she left now it would be the same as admitting defeat.

When it was finally done, Chantelle gave Shana a death glare before storming out of the room, hair flying behind her.

Shana went to Kyoya and wrapped her arms around him. She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling. "I know what you were trying to do. You don't need to try to mother me, all right. I can fight my own battles."

When he opened his mouth to defend himself, she continued, "Still, it's really nice of you… but I don't want you to do it anymore." She gave him a mock frown which was probably ruined by the fact that she pulled his head down and kissed him.

"I love you," she whispered into his mouth as she lost herself in his kiss. It was amazing how no matter it started, she could always get lost in him.

"Hey… we can't do this here," Kyoya reminded her, pulling away. She flushed. He was right, of course, it was just embarrassing that he was the one to keep his head all the time while she just got so absorbed in everything. Still, it wasn't altogether bad for her to be able to let someone else take charge once in a while.

Maybe she should show him just how much she loved him, she thought. After all, he had given her so much.

"Screw that little bitch," Chantelle muttered furiously as she stalked away from the room. "Hiding behind her big, powerful boyfriend. I'll show her!" she swore angrily.

She licked her lips as she thought about Kyoya. Just imagining how wonderful that influential dominant streak would be once she snared him made her shiver with anticipation. Why, she'd be the most powerful girl on campus once their relationship was established!

There was also the added deliciousness of stealing him away from Shana. Chantelle laughed softly as she imagined how perfect it would be – Kyoya walking her to her dorm room, kissing her good night as Shana watched on enviously. She would still be in love with Kyoya, of course, and Kyoya would say hello to her politely while she fought not to turn green with envy… Chantelle wanted to hug herself. She was such a genius! Who else could come up with a magical plan like this? It was foolproof, too.

Chantelle smirked as she perused herself in the mirror at the back of the lift. Her rouged lips curved upwards triumphantly. She had everything that the skinny little skank didn't have… bigger breasts, fuller curves, a stacked ass. It didn't matter what type of girl Kyoya liked, Chantelle had something for him. Even her hair was nicer than Shana's gaudy long blonde strands. It gleamed a honey brown and fell in artful waves past her shoulders thickly, heavy and beautiful, framing her face nicely.

"Shana… you've got nothing on me. Prepare to lose to me," she whispered, her eyes narrowed. The gears in her mind began to turn furiously. If there was one thing she was good at, it was manipulating others to get her way. "You are such a genius," she told herself in the mirror.

The next day, Shana only had afternoon classes, so she persuaded her friends to come to the mall with her. On the way there, Kaori asked, "So why did you suddenly want to come so badly?"

Shana smiled cryptically. "It's a surprise for Kyoya. You'll see."

When they got there, Shana made a beeline to the hairdresser where they usually went. "This is going to take some time, so feel free to go shop and stuff. I'll call you when I'm done." When they looked sceptical, Shana said, "Go on! I'm not kidding, this is going to take a long time."

Something in her expression must have told them that she needed to do this alone, because although they still looked disbelieving, they said, "Well, see you later then," and walked off.

Shana walked into the shop. "Hey there, Louise!" she greeted her hairdresser. "Today, I want something different," she told the hairdresser as she sat in a chair. Her eyes met the purple-haired girl's in the mirror. "I want you to change my hair back to its original colour."

Louise grinned at Shana. Shana had been coming to her for years now. She lived pretty nearby, and they were pretty good friends. Louise knew why Shana had dyed her hair – after all, it had been her Shana had come to when she'd dyed her hair blonde.

"What's with this sudden change?" Louise enquired, even as she made the preparations, pulling out all the materials she would need. Shana smiled. "Well… let's just say I don't need a different hair colour to feel good about myself anymore."

And it was true. Since she'd hooked up with Kyoya, she felt… different, somehow. She felt complete, and more confident of herself than she'd ever been. It was almost as if she had somehow blossomed into a fully grown flower while in Kyoya's warmth. And that was definitely clichéd and really weird, but it described how she felt to a tee.

Shana sat there musing for two hours, only coming out of her reverie when Louise tapped her on the shoulder and told her to go wash the dye off.

Suddenly excited, Shana grinned at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was covered in bits of foil and she looked like an alien – or a physics experiment on electricity.

When she sat back in the chair and Louise started blow-drying her hair, Shana stared at herself in the mirror. The change was so amazing. She'd forgotten what it was like to have black hair. It didn't make her look boring or part of the backdrop, as she'd remembered, but instead the radiant whiteness of her skin was brought out due to the contrast.

Shana smiled as she stared at herself in the mirror. It finally felt right, like she was finally back, like she had stopped running from herself and her past and could face the world confidently as herself.

Lou grinned at Shana, proud of her work. She lifted a lock of Shana's newly black hair and let it run through her fingers. "Do you want me to cut it?" she asked.

Shana continued staring into the mirror. Now that she thought about it, she should probably have gotten Lou to re-style it before changing the colour. "Yeah, okay," she said, blushing in embarrassment at her stupidity.

Lou cut and layered her hair, giving her a fresher, more carefree look. The side-swept bangs added a touch of sexiness to the look, flopping endearingly over one eyebrow.

"Thanks Lou," she said, getting out of the chair. "You're the best," she said, running her hands through her hair, enjoying the feel of it against her fingers. She paid and stepped out of the salon, where she called Kaori and told them to meet her outside their favourite smoothie stall, since she was thirsty. She then headed over to buy herself a drink.

"Hey guys," she greeted when she saw them. "Who the hell are- Oh my gosh! Shana! What did you do to your hair?" Kaori exclaimed. Haruhi impatiently shushed her and told Shana, "It looks nice, it really does. Black suits you so much more than blonde."

Shana fingered a lock of hair that fell in front of her shoulder. "You think? This is my natural colour," she said, a hint of a blush darkening her cheeks.

"No kidding?" Haruhi asked, brows raised. "Why did you dye it blonde then?"

Shana ducked her head. "I'll tell you later," she promised. Although she wasn't intending to keep Haruhi and Kaori in the dark forever, she didn't think telling them while they were in a public place was the best time to.

Still, it was due to Kyoya that she could even consider telling them at all; he made her feel confident that people could accept her with her past and the scars she bore. While she wouldn't go so far as to say she owed Kyoya everything, she had to admit that he did have something to him that just made her loosen up. He somehow managed to knock down the walls she had erected around her heart – which she had to admit was kind of odd, since she had seen everyone else's reaction to him, and she seemed to be the only one with this reaction. Everyone else seemed pretty terrified of him.

She sighed inwardly. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get so attached to him, since after all, he seemed a little leery of getting to close. She harboured no fairytale fantasies of miraculously convincing him with her pure and innocent love that it was okay to love her back, but she did hope. She just hoped that he would not crush it.

_Yay! I finished this chappie. :D I know I said I was on hiatus and everything, but once I started writing I couldn't stop sigh. Maybe now that I'm done I'll get more stuff done. ): Sigh, this holiday is totally fail. D: We have tons of homework and assignments to do! And there's exams coming really soon. ); Looks like I won't be writing for a while. But I always love you! (:_

_Oh yeah, I'm thinking about a new story for Skip Beat, in which Sho will find redemption. (: I think after I finish Off the Chain I'll take a little break from Ouran to write the Skip Beat. :D_

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	9. Chapter 9

Shana tossed her phone carelessly onto the bed before falling back into the mess of pillows and soft toys. She had just called Kyoya to arrange a date tonight at one of the nicer – and more affordable restaurants in the vicinity. She really wanted to show him her new hair.

"_Bitch?_" The shrill exclamation jolted Shana rudely out of her thoughts. She flicked a disparaging glance towards the door, where Chantelle had just entered the room. Shana rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Chantelle," she muttered. "I'm in no mood for you right now."

Chantelle grabbed Shana's arm as she tried to walk past her and out of the room so that she could go to Haruhi and Kaori's room, foiling Shana's attempt at escape. Her long, sharp fingernails dug unpleasantly into Shana's flesh, cutting skin.

Shana jerked her head sharply towards Chantelle, sending her newly dark hair arcing out behind her. "Let go of my arm," she said in a deathly quiet tone that promised retribution. Still, Chantelle, undaunted, simply laughed. "Well, nice hair. Now it matches the rest of your dowdy, ugly-duckling personality!" she crowed.

That had struck a nerve, although Shana logically knew that Chantelle's words didn't matter a whit. She yanked her arm out of Chantelle' grasp and sneered. "And what would you call a beautiful swan, Chantelle?" she asked with deceptive sweetness. "Would you call it buying every shirt you own three sizes too small to show off the maximum amount of skin? Or saving up for months to get a nose job? Or… oh yes, getting the 'very sought-after' invitations to those disreputable parties that have you stumbling back into the room at six in the morning reeking of cocaine, alcohol and semen – a very pungent and unpleasant smell, by the way?"

Chantelle stiffened. "For your information, I didn't have to save up for my nose job, and I do not smell weird," she informed Shana acidly. Shana rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh, yes. I forgot that your boy toy of the moment paid for your nose job – how is he, by the way? Oh wait, never mind," she said, waving her hand in a blasé manner. "I'm sure you can't even remember his name now," she said. "And how would you know how you smell? You're always so wasted half the time you fall asleep on the toilet and I have to haul you out and into your own bed so that I can get ready for class," Shana told Chantelle snidely.

"You… you fucking _bitch_," Chantelle snarled at Shana, before slapping her so hard that Shana's neck snapped back. Shana was tempted to slap her back, but that would only have ended up in a brawl, which would have benefited no one, so she just smiled coldly. "And only someone who is so utterly refined would slap someone like you just did," she said coolly, walking calmly out the door after delivering her parting shot.

The moment Shana left the room, Chantelle slammed the door shut with a satisfying _bam!_, before pacing back and forth in the room, muttering angrily under her breath. "That stupid bitch doesn't know anything! What the fuck is her problem anyway. I bet she's not getting enough. Hmph, after this she'll be crawling back to me begging me to take her in as a disciple. And then we'll see who's the swan."

Shana stalked angrily over to Haruhi and Kaori's room across the hall. She fingered her jaw for a moment, then grimaced. "Stupid bitch didn't need to hit me so hard," she muttered before opening the door and walking in. Kaori was sitting in the bean bag and Haruhi was sitting in one of the swivel chairs at the desk. Shana walked in and lay on Kaori's bed, giving a gusty sigh.

Haruhi and Kaori exchanged glances and looked at Shana again. "Dude, you have a mean bruise forming on your jaw. What happened?" Kaori ventured. Shana propped herself up against Kaori's fat pillows and glanced at the mirror. "Holy crap I really do have a giant bruise here," she said, poking gingerly at it and wincing when waves of pain resonated. She sighed. "Well, Chantelle slapped me today," she said, rolling her eyes. "That stupid bimbo doesn't know when to quit, I swear. Still, this does pose a problem – I have a date tonight and Kyoya is going to freak out when he sees this stupid bruise. Any of you have powerful concealer?"

Ignoring Shana's attempt at brushing over the part where Chantelle had actually _struck _her – wasn't this a legal offense? – Haruhi's eyes widened. "Come again? Chantelle actually _hit _you? Shana, that's not right. You could sue her for that." Shana just shrugged. "And what good would that achieve? It's not that I wouldn't want her to pay me an unreasonable amount of money, it's just that I don't have the time to. Besides, you know she'd just seduce one of her boy toys into getting her an excellent lawyer to defend herself and in the end _I'd _be the one paying _her_."

They all grimaced, for they knew it was true. What was it with guys that girls like Chantelle could just wrap them around their little fingers and make them dance like puppets on a string? Still, each girl thought, their significant others would never be so dumb. Kaori smiled at the ring that she wore at all times on her finger, except for in the shower and in bed. It was almost a part of her now, a physical symbol of the love and devotion that Kaori and Mori held for each other.

Haruhi thought of her Tamaki and had to fight back a laugh. While he might seem like an idiot who would be the first person to be fooled by someone like Chantelle, she knew he was faithful to her, and besides, he was a lot smarter than he seemed. She was totally secure in his love for her.

Shana knew that Kyoya was definitely too smart to fall for any of Chantelle's tricks, and besides, she had faith that he would never do something like that to her, especially after she had confided in him. Something like that would totally crush her, and she knew that he would never do something like that, even unintentionally.

She smiled and hugged herself. She knew that he would definitely be faithful to her no matter what and was eagerly looking forward to their date tonight like a child on Christmas Eve.

* * *

Kyoya sat in his home office in his house, a bemused smile on his lips as he looked at his phone, replaying his and Shana's phone conversation in his mind. Asinine it might be, but he wondered if Shana was actually feeling nervous about their date.

She had sounded odd over the phone, not as confident as usual, in fact, almost nervous. She had told him that she had a surprise for him, and he couldn't wait. He wondered idly what it was with her that she could distract him from his world of figures and calculations like nothing else could. He wasn't sure whether to be happy or upset that she had that effect on him.

Looking at the folders filled with figures and statistics, he saw Shana's laughing face, in direct contrast to the mathematical emotionless world of business. Still, although he hadn't realised it, he was unconsciously dedicating his efforts to Shana. He had always dreamed of the day he surpassed his two older brothers… he would be successful, turning up to a social function in an expensive suit and a beautiful, faceless woman hanging from his arm. Well, that woman was no longer faceless – she had the face of Shana, his love, his friend, _his_. And nothing would change that.

He returned to his graphs and charts and began to work with an intensity that he rarely managed to work at. Shana had that effect on him – she could alternately distract him and motivate him to work harder than he ever had.

As he worked, the minutes and hours slipped away, until finally it was time to get ready for their date. She hadn't wanted him to pick her up at the dorm, though he had offered to, but instead had chosen to meet him at the subway station, telling him that she 'didn't want him to keep driving them around', and besides, it would be fun to take the subway with him.

He smiled as he recalled that, for taking the subway was something of a novelty to him; his chauffeurs had always ferried him around. Truth be told, he was looking forward to taking the subway with Shana, and feeling like a normal guy for a while, without the responsibilities of multiple companies weighing down on him.

_YAY IT'S HERE! :D And I'm sorry it might be a little bit irrelevant at the moment but it's not okay! ((: And I really hope you enjoy it, and I'm SO SUPER SORRY THAT YOU GUYS HAD TO WAIT SO LONG! I had tons of stuff to do in school (school sucks to the max) like exams and stuff which I had to study for like mad. So yeah. Next one will be up as soon as I can manage it, I make no promises!_

_Oh yes, another thing. I created the Facebook page and a linoit thing for you guys, it's damn cool. (: Link to Facebook page: .com/pages/Peachy-Hikaru/140695782659852 and link to linoit: /users/Peachy_Hikaru/canvases/Peachy%20Hikaru%20fanfics I tried to make it as user-friendly as possible, but I'm not sure if you need an account to post on it. It's damn cool though, check it out. ((:_

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	10. Chapter 10

Shana leaned against the wall of the subway station, waiting for Kyoya to arrive. She wondered if he would walk past her, and had to fight hard to resist smiling like a crazy fool as she imagined it. Yeah, smiling to herself while loitering in the subway station would go over well with the Japanese public.

While she was caught up in her musings, she almost didn't notice Kyoya walk past her with little more than a cursory glance as he looked around the subway station for her. She barely stifled a giggle this time. She quickly pushed herself off the wall and ran over to him, grabbing his hand. "Kyoya!" she exclaimed, laughter dancing in her eyes.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Shana looked like a random fan-girl who had suddenly decided to accost him. He swung round to tell her off and give her some threats pertaining to her family's net worth, but then whatever he'd been about to say died on his lips. "Sh-Shana?" he gasped, his jaw falling open.

Shana laughed at him. He might be a genius with an unbelievably high IQ, but he was still a guy, and as such couldn't do things like recognize her with her black hair at a glance. She stopped laughing and tugged him over to the wall, as they were blocking human traffic, standing in the middle of nowhere like that.

Kyoya lifted a lock of her black hair and gaped at her. "Shana, what did you do?" he asked disbelievingly. She rolled her eyes at him. "Well, I didn't dye my hair back to its original colour, that's for sure," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him impatiently.

Suitably quelled, he followed her into the interior regions of the train station. While waiting for the train to arrive, he continued staring at her. He had thought that she looked good with her hair blonde, but he had never expected that she would look so much better with her hair its natural black.

The train roared along the tracks, slowing to a stop in front of them, and the moment the doors slid open smoothly, releasing the many people in the train as they stepped briskly out of the carriages, ignoring the shrill automated beeping of the trains. When they left, the people waiting for the train swarmed in, packed against each other tightly, like the proverbial sardines in a can.

Kyoya waited expectantly for the familiar disgust that he usually felt when circumstances forced him to take the subway to well up. Rubbing shoulders with those less successful than him; sometimes even the scum of Japan, was something totally abhorrent to him; Haruhi was the only exception. He wasn't sure what was worse, that they smelt so bad or that they put no effort into bettering their lives, then sneering upon his ilk, saying that they were 'stingy' and wouldn't cut them any slack.

Still, he had to admit that being squished against Shana's slim frame wasn't all that bad – he could feel her against him, pressed tightly against his body, and something in him delighted in the close, yet somehow casual, contact. As he looked at her smiling face, he couldn't feel upset or disgusted at being in the subway with all the other people, rubbing shoulders with the masses – the scum of society included. It appeared that when she was around, all the little things that he couldn't help but be upset with usually faded into nothing when she was around.

Soon the train reached their destination, and he almost – but not quite – felt a little twinge of disappointment when they had to move out of their little corner of the train and towards the doors. Though he couldn't say that he missed the too-close-for-comfort confines of the train, he had enjoyed it when Shana had had to squeeze up against him by necessity. If he had his way, they would spend the rest of their days that way, squished against each other, not an inch of space between them, only their clothing separating their bodies – though maybe without the clothes.

To his horror, as he imagined them locked together in an embrace that would last forever, he felt his little – or not-so-little – friend begin to stir. Getting an erection while they were at some smelly train station did not sound good to him, and so he tried his best to think of other, less erogenous topics… but came up a big fat zero.

He would have laughed at the absurdity of it all had he not been so panicked about people seeing the now prominent bulge in his trousers. Fortunately, it was now mid-autumn, and the chilly bite in the air gave him the excuse he needed to don his long coat. As he buttoned it up, he couldn't help but give an involuntary sigh of relief that he wouldn't be discovered.

When they stepped out of the train station, the wind hit them full force. Stunned momentarily, Shana stopped for a moment and Kyoya bumped into her – revealing his erection to her as it, too, bumped against the small of her back. Surprised, she turned to look at him, and when she saw that his face was turning red – and not because of the cold.

Smiling at him like the cat that ate the cream, she turned around and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly, before she released him to put on her jacket. Her hair was flying all over the place, even into her mouth, and so she impatiently tied it back loosely with a hair tie that she always kept around her wrist.

That done, she took his hand in hers, looked at him with her eyes full of mischievous intent, then laughed as she walked off, pulling him along. She wondered if she had ever felt this happy, if she had ever felt this mixture of joy, naughtiness, nervousness twirling in her stomach, like she had swallowed an entire butterfly farm. With her family, the butterflies' wings had been tipped with deadly black spikes, and at any time they could fly into her and plunge them inside her, injecting her with poison.

With Kyoya… the feeling was entirely different. The butterflies were small, light and colourful, their wings brushing against her with feather-light strokes, depositing gleaming pollen in their wake, which grew into beautiful roses inside her, blooming in a rush of joy, deep and crimson with the strength of the love she felt for him.

Had it been any other girl, Kyoya would have insisted on taking the lead, pulling her along, making sure he knew where they were going, but with Shana, he was content to just let her take the lead sometimes, let her do what she liked, as long as that smile on her face stayed there.

He felt the stirrings of unease, wondered if it was healthy that he would go to such extreme lengths for her, do things that were so against his character, just to make her happy. He shoved the little nagging voice into a corner of his mind, where he wouldn't have to think about how he might have to hold back with Shana, in order to keep a small part of himself the same, unaffected by her and his love for her.

They half-walked, half-ran along the pavement, before stopping at the road junction where they were to cross. Across the road there was a tiny row of shops which most people wouldn't have given a second glance to, but Shana knew of a French-Japanese fusion restaurant that served delicious food at a reasonable price. It was a little family-owned cafe-cum-restaurant that was intimate and romantic.

"Table for two, please," requested Kyoya in his usual regal voice that he used to remind snotty waiters what their place was – and what his was. Shana nudged him and smiled at the friendly waitress. "We'll have a table for two, please. Can we have a corner table?" she asked.

The waitress smiled. "Of course, Shana," she said as she took some menus from the stack. "Please, come this way," she said to Kyoya, still a little leery of him.

When they were seated, she winked at Shana. "Nice one you've got there," she said in a theatrical whisper. Shana flushed and rolled her eyes at the waitress. "Whatever, Barbara," she retorted, blushing. Barbara winked. "Well, I'll let you guys have some time to decide on what you want –" another surreptitious wink, leaving Shana and Kyoya without a doubt of her innuendo, and continued, "And when you know what you want, just call me."

With that, she left, leaving Shana and Kyoya alone at their corner table. With the dim lighting and the little candle on their table, the scene was set for romance. A little disarmed by the setting, Kyoya immediately opened his menu and began reading it. Smiling, Shana did too, although she knew what she wanted, having been here many times before.

Kyoya was having some trouble focusing on the menu when Shana sat across the table from him in that delicious little dress, her hair tied back halfway, such that it didn't get in her face, but wasn't completely pulled back. The candlelight cast a dim yellow light on her features, leaving intriguing shadows that led to the inside of –

He abruptly cut off that line of thought, and, realising he was staring at her, lowered his eyes back to his menu. Still, the images of her were imprinted in his mind, and he kept replaying the fantasy, leading to some uncomfortable reactions that were thankfully hidden by the tablecloth.

When he finally managed to decide what he wanted to eat – aside from the distractions, there were quite a few delicious-sounding dishes on the menu – they beckoned Barbara over, and started to order.

"I'll have a half-bottle of your house wine," Kyoya started, ordering the wine for both of them, "a bouillabaisse soup, a Wagyu filet mignon, done medium rare." When he finished, Shana ordered her meal: a duck pate and a seafood mix. "Any dessert?" Barbara asked, recording their order. They looked at each other, and decided, "We'll order dessert later."

Barbara nodded, repeated their order and then left. Kyoya turned his attention back to Shana and asked, "Why did you dye your hair back to your original colour?" Shana blushed again. "I didn't need it to be blonde anymore," she told him in a soft mumble. Kyoya frowned, trying to figure out what she had said.

Shana, seeing him so confused, rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't need to be blonde to feel beautiful and accepted anymore," she explained. Kyoya's frown disappeared. That had to mean what he thought it meant – that his love for her was enough to make her feel confident of herself as she was.

Overwhelmed with emotion, he couldn't do anything but stare at her like an idiot – something that was happening with disturbing frequency now. That what they had, although it was so new, had the power to make her feel beautiful – not that that should have been very hard, since she was gorgeous – was so… heartening. He could almost feel his heart threatening to burst out of his chest, it was expanding to such enormous proportions.

Shana was sitting on a bench seat that had its back against the wall, and she leaned her head back to rest on it, closing her eyes. This was so… so decadent, somehow. Her parents were well-off, but they had never taken her out unless they absolutely had to, and she had never actually enjoyed herself. It was usually for entertaining… and she was expected to act like they were loving parents to her. This was so new, so different, so… nice. It was a stupid word, but the only one she could come up with. Nice.

She opened her eyes and looked at Kyoya. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so, so much for this – for everything," she told him. All these new emotions flooding her, these new experiences, all of it was because of him.

Kyoya looked at her, at her perfect frame, and wondered how ridiculous it was that _she _was thanking _him._ Thanks to her, he had everything. He had sometimes wondered idly, when he had nothing better to do, if there was really something wrong with him, that he had never felt anything for any girl, not even as a crush. All the other people he'd known had fallen head over heels for someone at some point in time, even Hani. Now he knew nothing was wrong with him, that he was fine, perfect, and he felt giddily happy at the thought.

"I love you," they said in unison, their eyes widening when they heard the other saying it. Somehow, the words were a heady aphrodisiac, and the mood changed instantly. Kyoya stared at her, noting all over again how beautiful she was, how the candle light cast enticing shadows over her face, neck, and lower… It was happening again. He forced his mind away from that train of thought, knowing that if he let himself continue, he would rush her out of the restaurant, and he wanted her to have a nice dinner with him. He was the man made of stone. He could wait. He would wait. He was absolutely certain of it.

For her part, Shana looked at him with eyes that were suddenly heavy-lidded, and signs of arousal made themselves known in her body. Her nipples tightened and peaked, and down below, she felt the fire stirring. Against her will, her mind flashed back to the times in his beach villa…

Kyoya looked at the way Shana looked at him and sighed, fidgeting slightly in his seat and trying to subtly adjust his pants. This was going to be a long dinner…

_Hello friends! (: Did you guys miss me? Hahaha (: Well I'm right in the middle of my exam week now but I was clearing out my Microsoft word (i.e. deleting all my notes on exams that are already over) so I decided to just finish this up! :D Exams end on Monday (Math ohdear I suck so bad in that) and I'm going to devote Tuesday and Wednesday (aka marking days!) to writing. :D I have such big plans for the saga and also a Skip Beat fic! Which will only be coming out after this series is completed so guess who will be a busy little girl in the holidays. ^^ _

_Cheers! (:_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	11. Chapter 11

"Ootori-sama, your wine is here," Barbara said as she reappeared with a decanter of wine and two long-stemmed wine glasses. She placed a glass at Kyoya's place, then at Shana's, before pouring the deep red liquid into the glasses. There was still some wine left in the decanter, so she placed it in the middle of the table. "Please enjoy your wine," she said before leaving.

She smiled to herself as she walked back to the kitchen. She had ignored it, but she had definitely noticed the way Shana and Kyoya were looking at each other… and it gave her the chills, all up and down her spine. Good chills. She looked at them, and immediately saw what she had with her fiancé, and it was all the more surprising because Kyoya had come here for dates before, or dinners with business associates, and he always looked so composed and cool, with his face always perfectly straight and maybe even slightly bored-looking. She chuckled. Shana was a lucky girl, and she had a feeling she knew it.

Desperate for something to do, Kyoya picked up the glass of wine and inhaled the scent of the wine, before tipping it and sipping a small amount of it. He savoured the taste, not too sweet, but not too bitter, striking the perfect balance, such that it was like sunshine bursting onto his tongue, decadent and delicious. He looked at Shana, who was staring at him, a little smile tugging on the corners of her mouth. She let out an infectious giggle and said teasingly, "So is the wine good?"

Kyoya smiled back. "It's absolutely perfect." The look in his eyes let her know that he wasn't just talking about the wine. She should have blushed, but somehow she knew he was going to say that, and she smiled. "I think it's wonderful too." She wasn't referring to the wine either. She gazed at him through seductive, half-lidded eyes, and he felt the reaction deep in his gut… and lower.

The soup and pate came, and with salad. The mixed greens – and deep purple – were lightly drizzled in a sweet and sour sauce, like lemon juice and orange juice, with a hint of a bite that seemed like vinegar… but then one could never be too sure in places like these. Secret ingredients were the name of the game, and all one could do was enjoy… and enjoy they did.

Shana speared a piece of an unknown purplish vegetable and popped it into her mouth… and immediately closed her eyes to savour the delicate taste of the bitter vegetable, combined with the heavenly taste of the dressing, chewing slowly to make it last longer. "Oh my God this is so good," she exclaimed softly, her eyes opening to smile at him radiantly, and his erection got harder. He couldn't help but imagine her looking at him like that, her eyes sparkling, a smile on her face, telling him it was good and – oh, God. He stifled a shudder as his mind went haywire, or maybe it was just swirling down the gutter.

Shana smiled to herself as she watched the emotions play out on his usually stony face. It was amazing, seeing the carnal desire, love, lust and happiness written across his face, and all of it was for her – _her_. When they finished their salads, Barbara appeared again, just like magic, and took the plates away. Shana picked up her fork and knife and cut a piece of the pate. This was… new. The pate she had been expecting was a pasty spread, usually served on toast or crackers or something. This was probably the entire piece, and nothing had been done to it, it was still… a real piece.

She gingerly popped it into her mouth, not sure what to expect. It still tasted like pate, but the texture was different. It was… soft, tender… "This is good!" she said, almost surprised. Kyoya chuckled at her expression over his bouillabaisse soup. He supposed she had never tried it that way before. Shana looked at him, cut him his own slice and held it to his lips. "Do you want some?" she asked, smiling at him, that generous spirit showing again. Unable to resist, Kyoya wrapped his lips around her fork and pulled the pate from it.

It definitely wasn't something that he had never had before; he had had much better pate, much better food, much better… everything. But chewing the pate from Shana's fork, from her plate, made it seem so much sweeter, so much better than it had been before, and he wanted to share something with Shana in the same way.

He lifted his spoon and took a spoonful of his soup, before placing it at her lips. Shana's eyes twinkled at him in merriment as she opened her mouth and took in the soup. Her soft pink lips slid off the spoon sensuously and he knew he was driving himself crazy imagining those lips sliding off something else, and his erection got even harder, chafing against his zipper.

Shana wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Ew, what's this!" she asked, dreading the answer. "Internal organs," he told her, struggling to hold in his laughter. Only Shana could do that, pull off the perfect combination of cute and sexy so that he could laugh at her even while he had a hard-on from her.

When they finished their appetizers, Barbara brought their meals, and they continued feeding each other portions of their meals. It was a sweet, loving, and extremely erotic experience for the two of them, and by the time they finished their meals, Shana's eyes were slightly glazed over and her nipples were peaked under her dress. She felt a rush of warm moisture between her legs and rubbed her thighs together self-consciously.

Kyoya wasn't faring that well either – his erection chafed against his zipper to the point of pain and he had resorted to palming himself surreptitiously under the table to adjust himself and to provide some friction to his needy… situation. His eyelids were heavy and half-lidded, and he was about to slam her up against the wall right there, and everyone else could go to hell.

Barbara came by to collect their plates and asked, pretending she didn't see the obvious signs of both their arousals. "Would you like some dessert?" she asked them, just to be professional – and all right, because she was curious as to what Kyoya would say. He almost growled at her. "No we don't want dessert. May we have the bill." The way he said it made it seem like a command instead of a request. Just for fun, she insisted. "Are you sure? We have a lovely tiramisu tonight, and some profiteroles. And a wonderful warm chocolate – "

Kyoya cut her off. "_No._" His vehement statement brooked no argument. Giggling inside, she brought him the bill. He opened his wallet – _fuck,_ he'd had to reach into his pocket for it – and carelessly tossed a credit card onto the leather folder, not caring which one it was. When she brought it back to him, he hastily signed and kept everything. He couldn't stand up for a moment, knowing that everyone would see his urgent erection, and he looked at Shana helplessly.

Laughing at him, Shana stood up gracefully and he walked behind her all the way to the entrance, where they got their coats and he could cover up. They held hands as they walked back to the main road. Kyoya immediately flagged a taxi, not wanting to waste time going back to his apartment via public transport, and pushed her into it.

On the way home, Shana ran her fingers up and down his thigh, reaching tantalizingly close to his rampant erection but never really touching it, until Kyoya was gritting his teeth in frustration and agony. He wanted to just grab her wrist and push her hand against his erection and make her stroke him until the awful, wonderful agony he felt was gone, but he knew that he couldn't – the taxi driver would see. _Damn him_.

By the time they got back to his apartment, he was breathing heavily through his nose, trying desperately to act like everything was all right, while his hands were fisted against his thighs and his erection hurt. He fumbled for his wallet, randomly threw a few bills at the taxi driver, muttered, "Keep the change," and rushed Shana out of the taxi.

"So you thought it would be fun to tease me all the way back home, didn't you?" he growled at her as he hastily unbuckled his belt and undid the zipper of his trousers. His urgency had increased hers, and Shana started shucking her clothes too, reaching behind her to undo the zipper before stepping out of the dress when it pooled at her feet. Kyoya was momentarily taken aback; the strapless bra and matching thong were black. Lace. Black lace. He gulped for a moment, before attacking her. His large hands fumbled clumsily with the clasp, urgent need making his hands shake and lose his finesse. Why did this always happen with Shana? With her. Always with her, and only with her.

He yanked her panties off before shucking his own underwear and backed her against the wall, vaguely aware that he was still wearing his shirt, but not wanting to stop to take it off. His lips claimed hers in a forceful, almost brutal kiss as he raised her legs around his waist. "Hold on tight because I can't slow down," he warned her, before he slammed home.

"Oh, _God_," he moaned as he tried to focus on anything he could to stop himself from coming right at that moment. "Oh, fuck, Shana, you're so hot – so tight – " He began thrusting, thanking the gods and stars that she was already wet and needy, that he wasn't hurting her. He assumed he wasn't, anyway, since she was panting and making the most delicious little noises that he really, really hoped were of pleasure.

He had to mark her, had to make it known to everyone that she was his, and he did, biting down on her neck, before sucking and licking the pain away, soothing her by laving his tongue over the mark.

Shana shuddered as she felt his teeth sink into her skin, the pain mingling with pleasure, and she knew he was _marking_ her, claiming her. The thought, which should have been abhorrent to her – how chauvinistic, after all – was, in fact, wildly arousing, and as he kept thrusting, hitting _that _spot, as he began to lick her neck, to soothe the pain, she found that she couldn't help it anymore, and convulsed in pleasure around him, wrapping her arms and legs tightly around him to hold on. She heard someone making mewls of pleasure – were those really sounds she was making? How strange – right before she slumped back against the wall, sated and sweaty.

Kyoya felt her come, heard the amazing sexy sounds she made while in the throes of her orgasm, and as she tightened her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper into her, he found himself losing his mind and he came so hard, it almost hurt. Every sensation was heightened for him. She became hotter, wetter, tighter… oh, God, she was strangling him, she was squeezing him, and it was so good, so good, he never wanted her to stop, and then she was nuzzling his chest as he came back down to Earth.

"Oh, God, Shana," he said weakly, trying to describe to her how good it was for him, and failing miserably. He couldn't describe how intense it was, how beautiful, and especially not now, when he was sure that all his brain neurons were short-circuited and every single brain cell was fried.

She giggled softly and kissed his chest. "It's like that for me too," she told him, hugging him. "Now, if you don't mind, you're starting to slip and this isn't the most comfortable position for either of us, so would you consider letting me go so we can go to bed?"

Reluctant to relinquish his hold on her, and reluctant to leave her body, he pushed himself off the wall and stumbled to his bedroom, kicking the door shut on his way in, and the two of them tumbled unceremoniously on the bed. Something was niggling in the back of his mind, and when he thought about it for a little while, he realized what it was.

"Shit," he swore. "We didn't use a condom!" How many times had it been that they hadn't used one? Shana smiled at him. "It's okay baby, I'm on the pill," she told him softly as she snuggled into him. Kyoya wrapped his arms around her and she fell asleep almost immediately, so happy, so tired, so blissful, so in love.

He held her for a long time after she fell asleep, wondering what the hell he was doing with her, and how he had gotten so deeply entrenched in their relationship. Still, this felt right, and for once, he figured it couldn't be that wrong to follow his heart. With that resolved, he fell asleep with a small smile on his face and the woman he loved in his arms.

* * *

_Hey peeps! (: Math is on Monday but I couldn't resist since today is the weekend and I've spent the entire week studying and having exams ugh. ._. I hate exams, who's with me! Still, I hope you enjoyed this lemon. I'm sorry it wasn't as long as the other one, but I hope it was satisfactory anyway. Love you all! (:_

_Yours,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	12. Chapter 12

For the next three months, everything was amazing. Shana and Kyoya were together so often that the others began referring to them as Siamese twins, although they had entirely different courses. Shana spent as much time in Kyoya's apartment as in her own dorm room, and Chantelle, while madly jealous and resentful of Shana, had to admit that it was great having the room to herself occasionally.

A round of exams came and went, and Shana and Kyoya were at the library so often that it became like their second home, and they could frequently be seen in an aisle, making out, Shana with her back against the wall. The host club, the twins especially, were extremely amused by this. Who knew Shana, the little slip of a girl, could make Kyoya act in this fashion?

Still, all good things couldn't last forever. There was one person who wasn't amused or delighted by this turn of events – and who else but the lovely Chantelle. She was utterly and completely disgusted by the turn of events; why would Kyoya Ootori, of all people, the person everyone knew would inherit the Ootori Enterprise, be interested in the short midget? After all, she was tiny everywhere, and her hair was now that boring shade of black. Kyoya deserved someone better than Shana. Someone vivacious, funny, popular, pretty. Someone like… well, her. Or at least not Shana, the little bitch.

She smiled as the wheels began to turn in her head.

* * *

"Nope, sorry! Me and the girls are going to have a girls' night out, "Shana told Kyoya when he asked if she would be free for dinner that night. "I'm free tomorrow night, though," she added, just in case. He chuckled. "Okay then, tomorrow night it is."

Shana, Kaori and Haruhi were going to go to the bar right off campus. It was a popular hangout among the college crowd, and they rarely went there, but they felt that with all the studying and exams and everything, they deserved some girl bonding time, and so had made arrangements to go that night.

Shana lay on her bed and smiled, clasping the phone to her chest. Life was so good right now, better than it had ever been for her. She had friends, a wonderful boyfriend, and her grades weren't all that bad either. She was studying law, which she had always wanted to do – yeah, life was pretty damn good.

Chantelle sneered at her from behind her magazine. How dare the bitch be so happy and flaunt her relationship with Kyoya Ootori in front of her? Like she was mocking her, taunting her… honestly, the stupid bitch deserved a lesson. So she was going to the bar, was she. Well, it was time to put the plan into action. She smiled to herself as she picked up her phone to send a text message to the parties involved.

* * *

That night, Shana decided that since she was going to a bar, she might as well dress the part, and so she put on a miniskirt and a short-sleeved, low cut top. Alluding to the weather, she wore a tube under the top and cute black stockings. She couldn't very well wear the heels she had, so she put on black boots instead – high heeled boots that she liked to wear in the winder because although they were heeled, they had an anti-slip design in the sole, and they kept her calves warm.

She giggled as she looked at herself in the mirror – she looked nice and she knew it. If only Kyoya could be here – she would love to see his reaction to the boots she liked to refer to as her "fuck me" boots. They hugged her slim calves nicely and she loved how they were such a nice, soft leather. One good thing about her parents' neglect was that they gave her a hefty allowance to make up for ignoring her all the time, enabling her to afford luxuries like this once in a while.

She picked up her purse, which already had everything she would need for the night, and walked across the hallway to Kaori and Haruhi's room, knocking impatiently. When Kaori came to the door, she was still half-dressed, wearing a pretty black short V-cut dress that had a large red belt around her waist. Her hair hung haphazardly down her shoulders and was still wet and messy.

Shana laughed at her. "I like your hair," she told her teasingly. Kaori glared. "Well not all of us get ready like an hour before we actually plan to go out," she sniped. Shana laughed again, and waved a hand airily at her friend's head. "Can we please do something about this mess?" she asked in a mock indignant tone. They both laughed and Shana sat down on Kaori's bed. "Haruhi is in the shower," Kaori explained.

"Hi Shana!" Haruhi yelled from the shower, straining to be heard over the sound of the jets of water. Almost immediately the shower was switched off and Haruhi came out, wrapped in a towel. "Wow you're always so early," she told Shana, who rolled her eyes. "I'm not early, sweetie. I'm punctual," she corrected. Haruhi rolled her eyes at her. "Yes, of course," she said as she walked to her closet and extracted the clothes she wanted to wear that night.

Twenty minutes later, Haruhi and Kaori were both ready, and they left the dorm, chattering excitedly. There was a bus that took the college students to town, and they got on, getting off near the bar.

Like most girls' nights out, they had no intention of actually hooking up, but they just wanted to spend some time together, gossiping about random stuff and maybe getting a little drunk, before going back to their dorm to continue the gossip.

The bar was, as was the norm on a weekend evening, crowded and filled almost to bursting with students and people who lived in this town. They couldn't find a table, so they made their way over to the bar top counter and sat there. As they talked, joked, and giggled, suddenly a young man came up to Shana. "Hey there, beautiful," he said flirtatiously. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"No thanks," she told him politely. "I have a boyfriend," she added, to get him to stop talking to her. He crowded closer, and placed his hand on the small of her back. "C'mon, sweetie," he cajoled. "Your boyfriend isn't here, is he?" he continued. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him, yeah?"

Shana stiffened. "Please don't touch me there," she warned. Who was this asshole and why had he placed his hand on the small of her back? This was escalating out of her control, and she didn't like it. "I really do have a boyfriend, and I'm not willing to cheat on him," she told him, moving away from his hand, hoping he would get the hint. But he didn't, and he just crowded closer still, his hand slipping around her waist.

* * *

Kyoya walked into the bar with a bunch of his classmates. He didn't usually do things like this, but since Shana wasn't free that night, he had accepted their invitation. He knew a few of them were from influential families, and this was a chance for him to get to know more business contacts.

One of them had apparently gotten a text message, because after looking at his phone for a moment, he told them, "Hey let's go to the counter!" a little too excitedly. "Some of the guys are there, and they have a bunch of hot chicks," he told them. This was, of course, enough to get the other guys excited, and they all made a beeline for the bar.

Kyoya followed them, bored. How could he be interested in other girls when he was dating Shana? Beautiful, smart, Shana, who was… _sitting right there with some asshole's arm around her waist_. What was that all about? His jealous instincts immediately kicked in, and he walked over to them. "Excuse me, what do you think you're doing with your arm around _my girlfriend_?" he asked, stressing the last two words. He was appalled. How could Shana allow this guy to paw her? As he stared at her, anger and betrayal set in.

"Kyoya, what are you doing here?" she asked, smiling as she slipped off the seat and went to put her arms around him. He stepped back. "What were you doing with that guy?" he asked suspiciously. Shana rolled her eyes at him. "Just some random dude who tried to hit on me," she told him.

"Is that right?" he asked. Something about his expression was pissing her off. How could he not believe her? What had she ever done to warrant that look he was giving her? She glared at him and crossed her arms around her chest. "So, what, you don't believe me?" she asked, glaring daggers at him.

Unfortunately, this was misinterpreted by Kyoya as defensiveness, and he got even more upset. "How can I believe you when that guy was all over you? Why didn't you tell him to go away?" Shana flinched back, as if she had been struck. "So you don't think I was trying?" she said icily. "You think I would have let that guy come onto me like that without thinking of you? What the hell is your problem? I've been with you for three months, Kyoya, and they have been absolutely amazing. Why would I risk that for some random guy who apparently can't keep his hands to himself?"

Kyoya glared back. "Whatever," he told her. She turned, grabbed her purse and coat, and walked out the entrance of the bar with her head held high. She wouldn't break down in tears because Kyoya was being an unreasonable ass. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction when he was so appallingly wrong about this.

* * *

Back in the bar, Kaori and Haruhi exchanged glances, before slipping off their bar stools and walking after Shana. Haruhi stopped next to Kyoya. "You were wrong, you know," she told him. "The guy wouldn't leave Shana alone and she didn't want to make a scene." With that parting shot, she and Kaori left, hurrying after Shana.

Kyoya stared at them, and rubbed his hand over his face. What had he done? He had to make it up to Shana somehow. But with the way he had acted, and the stricken look on her face, he wasn't sure if she would ever want to see him again. He groaned and went over to the counter. "I'll have a beer," he told the bartender, and she promptly got it for him, setting the large jug of beer on the counter, filled to the brim with the golden liquid, and foam. Lots and lots of foam. He immediately grabbed it and started chugging from it. When he put it down, almost a third of the mug was gone. He sighed. What the hell had he done? Why hadn't he believed her? All he knew was that when he'd seen Shana with that guy's arm around her, he had absolutely lost it. When he had been a host, he had seen girls that had boyfriends till traipse into the music room to squeal over them, and it seemed to have left its mark on him. He finished his beer and ordered another.

Soon he was rather tipsy and began to feel better, the alcohol numbing the pain he felt inside. He went onto the dance floor and started dancing with some random girl, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was wrong, so he went back to the counter and sat down heavily, resting his chin on his hand. He ordered another beer and proceeded to down it, then another. By now he was feeling the effects of the beers, although he could hold his alcohol quite well.

Just then, Chantelle slipped into the seat next to him. "Hello," she said throatily. This had worked out so well. Now the little bitch was gone and Kyoya was drunk. When the bartender came over to her, she asked for a beer and one of those fruity little cocktails that she liked so much. Leaning close to Kyoya, she bent slightly so that her low-cut top fell away slightly from her body, revealing her cleavage. "Do you want to tell Chantelle all about it?" she asked sympathetically as she clinked glasses with him, although her cute little cocktail glass looked odd against his beer mug.

A few more drinks later, Kyoya was too drunk to remember why telling Chantelle anything was a bad idea, and he started spilling his guts to her. "I don't know what I was doing, but I feel like crap, and then she was there, and I was angry, and we were fighting, and now I don't know whether to feel like a sick fuck or to be mad at her or – gahhh," he groaned, dropping his head onto his folded arms.

Chantelle patted his back comfortingly. "There there," she said soothingly, as she got the bartender to top up his mug.

A few more drinks later, Kyoya was all but passed out. "Let me take you home," Chantelle told him as she wrapped her arm around his waist, under the guise of supporting his weight. He leaned heavily against her and she giggled as they teetered dangerously, as she was wearing high heels. When they got out, the blast of cold made them both shiver and hastily don their coats.

"Why don't I take you home?" Chantelle suggested. Kyoya nodded and gave her his address, not remembering that that was a very bad idea. Chantelle hailed a cab, loaded him into it and climbed in, giving the taxi driver the address. Oh, this was a very very good plan, executed perfectly. She knew just where this was going, even if he was too drunk to know.

* * *

Shana snuggled into her bed, guilt eating away at her. Even if Kyoya _had_ been unreasonable, she hadn't been fully sober and maybe had acted rashly in losing her temper with him. She sighed into her pillow. Once she'd gotten home, she'd removed the makeup and changed into an old nightshirt before going to sleep. She wondered how he was faring at the moment, hoping he wasn't too upset with her.

She sighed again as she replayed the scene in her mind. Way to ruin an evening, she thought wryly. She felt horrible that Kaori and Haruhi had rushed out after her, and although she had insisted that they go back and have a nice time, they persistently stuck to her till she had gone back to her dorm room. They had wanted to stay with her, but she was exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

She resolved that she would go over to Kyoya's first thing in the morning and make it up to him, maybe even cook him breakfast. She had done it a few times for him, and he had always enjoyed it so much.

Feeling immensely better, she fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

_Okay guys I'm so sorry for this I know you're all gonna hate me. ): But I promise, cross my heart and everything, that they will have a happy ending k! So don't flame me yet. I'M SORRY! Next chapter will be up soon since my exams are over and I can devote my time to writing hellyeah. (Y)_

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	13. Chapter 13

Shana opened her eyes and grimaced. The pale winter light filtered through the window of her room, and as she glanced towards the clock, she saw that it was only about seven in the morning. She was just about to roll over and go back to sleep, when she remembered what she had wanted to do.

She quickly rolled out of bed, almost groaning in disappointment when she felt the loss of warmth and was instead hit by the blast of freezing air in the room. She fought the urge to crawl back into bed, and instead turned the dial on the thermostat to make the room warmer.

She put on her furry slippers and walked into the bathroom, where she yawned and stretched, before scratching her ribs. She tied her hair back and proceeded to brush her teeth, wash her face and apply moisturizer, foundation and lip gloss – all with SPF. Feeling much better, she went to change.

Not feeling like dressing up, she pulled an oversize shirt and an old, beat-up pair of jeans on. She put on warm woollen socks and her comfortable snow boots. Taking her scarf, hat and jacket from their respective places, she donned them, grabbed her bag and walked out of the dorm room.

She didn't think there would be any public transport at this time of day, and in any case she found that she liked the weather – it was refreshing. She stopped by the supermarket to get some breakfast ingredients for him – eggs, bacon, and the like, she knew what he had in his kitchen was pathetic – and continued the rest of the way to his apartment.

She dug his key out of her bag (he had given it to her some time ago so she could let herself out of his apartment without waking him up, because he hated being woken up) and let herself in. After setting the bag of groceries on his counter, she went to his room to wake him up. She figured having breakfast made for him instead of his expensive coffee and one of his disgusting little cereal bars would negate the waking him up.

"Kyoya!" she called as she approached. The door was open, which was surprising – he usually closed it when he slept. Then again, maybe he'd been too hammered and tired to close it. She stood in the doorway and was about to call him again when she saw.

And she froze.

For a moment she was unable to process it. Yet even when she blinked, even when she pinched herself, hoping this was all just a horrible, messed up nightmare, the visual wouldn't go away. It remained seared into her eyes, into her mind, where it would probably stay forever. She whimpered, the sound laden with pain and anger, unable to move.

Chantelle, hearing the sound, opened her eyes and smiled at Shana. It wasn't a nice smile, it was a satisfied smirk. It was Chantelle telling her, _I won. Look at me now in bed with _your _rich-ass big-time boyfriend._

Shana turned blindly to leave, and accidentally hit the doorframe in her haste. The resulting noise woke Kyoya up, and he squinted as he saw Shana's long hair and her scarf flying out of sight. He rubbed his hand over his face and reached for his glasses, and froze when his arm came into contact with skin. He grabbed his glasses and put them on, then almost wished he hadn't. What was Chantelle doing in his apartment… in his bed… naked… and Shana was running off. He heard the bang of his front door slamming shut and it made his headache all the fiercer.

Chantelle raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. "Hello sexy," she purred sultrily, and he jumped out of the bed. This was probably the closest he had come to panic in… well… ever. "_Get. Out. Of. My. Apartment._" He literally growled the words at her, not even bothering to turn around to look at her. Not wanting to look at her. As if not looking at her would make her go away, would make this awful mistake go away, would give Shana back to him.

He started to go to his apartment door, but realised he was stark naked, and stank of alcohol and – he shuddered to think of it – _Chantelle._ He returned to his room, fished his wallet out of his trousers, which had been thrown haphazardly so that they hung half on, half off his table, and threw a five thousand yen bill onto the bed. "Take a cab home. You and all your items had better be gone by the time I come out."

With that, he disappeared into the bathroom and turned on the shower, adjusting the dials so that the hot water was almost scalding, and pounded into his body with brutal force. He began to scrub his body, almost as though the hot water and the force with which it was hitting his body would make the feel of Chantelle go away, make that feeling of wrongness melt away from his body.

But of course, it didn't work and he was forced to turn off the water and step out of the shower when the hot water started to run out. Towelling himself off violently, he wrapped the towel around his hips and stepped out of the bathroom. Thankfully, Chantelle was gone, but she had scrawled a note onto his mirror with her lipstick and even left a lip mark next to her name.

_Call me if you want an encore. I sure do. Xoxo Chantelle._

He groaned and went to his closet, pulling out the first set of clothing he put his hands on – a customary black shirt and black designer jeans. Hopping to the front door while he pulled his socks on, he shoved his feet into his Converse, grabbed his jacket off the hook and ran to his car.

He drove quickly, and perhaps even dangerously, to her dorm, before badly parking the car and running to her room. When the lift wouldn't come fast enough, he ran up the eight flights of stairs, barely pausing for breath before he took off down the corridor.

He vaguely remembered seeing a bag of groceries on his counter as he rushed out, and knew what it was. Guilt intensified in him as he realised that Shana had intended to make him breakfast as an apology. How had he been so blessed to have her in his life, and how had he been so stupid to let it all slip through his fingers, all thanks to… her?

He knocked frantically on Shana's door, hating that he didn't have a key. He cursed Chantelle in his mind as he rehearsed what he was going to say to Shana. He would take her into his arms and apologize and she would forgive him and know it was just a mistake – but what if she didn't want to see him? When the door finally opened, a fission of hope snaked through him that maybe they could still talk things out, that they would be all right, since she was able to open the door to him.

But when the door opened, he cringed when he saw that it wasn't Shana, but Chantelle, the person he had just called derogatory names in about twelve languages. She purred in satisfaction, not seeing his expression. "_Well_," she said, a small smile playing about her lips. "I knew you'd be back, I just thought you'd wait till tonight at least. Still, come in," she offered, stepping to the side to allow him entrance into the room.

He stayed there. "Where's Shana." He made the question a statement, a command.

She scoffed. "Shana? Who the hell knows? Probably crying to her little loser friends," she said disdainfully. "Still, since you're here, I'm guessing you don't really care," she added coyly, wrapping her fingers around his wrist.

He jerked his hand out of her grasp and turned away from her, stumbling across the hallway to knock on the door.

* * *

On the other side of the door, Shana was curled up on Haruhi's bed sobbing, while Haruhi and Kaori sat on either side of her, hugging her but not knowing what to say to comfort her. They sat in relative silence, broken only by the sound of Shana's soft sobs.

Finally, Kaori couldn't take it any longer. "Shana…" she said, breaking the silence that had ensued after Shana had squeezed out the painful story in between broken sobs.

Just then, a loud banging commenced on the door. Haruhi grumbled as she went to get it. "Do you mind, now is not a good time," she snapped as she opened the door, then gasped and tried to slam it shut again. Kyoya raised his forearm and braced it against the door, not allowing her to. From the soft sobs emitting from the room, he knew that Shana was there.

He stormed into the room, coming up short when he saw Shana. Even with her eyes puffy and red, and tear streaks down her cheeks, she was the most beautiful woman in the world to him and he wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and soothe her and make her pain go away.

He started towards her, intending to do just that when something stopped him in his tracks.

"Go away." The softest whisper, so soft that he wondered if he had imagined it. He stared at her, his brow knitting, wondering if she had in fact said it. He didn't believe it – didn't _want _to believe it, although he had seen her lips move.

She spoke again. "Please. Just- just leave me alone," she said in a broken whisper, the hitch in her voice betraying her sadness and despair. Her pain was palpable, tangible to him. He knew what she was feeling because he could feel it too. He could sense it in the air, and he was breathing _pain_. He didn't know how else to describe it. With every breath he took, he could feel the pain emanating from her, and it rubbed off on him.

Shana didn't know what to do. She wanted Kyoya to come to her, to hug her and explain everything that had happened, and tell her he loved her, but at the same time, she wanted him to go away and to never lay her eyes on him again. She loved him, yet she hated him. Did that make sense? No matter how angry she was at him, she knew that she still cared for him, and when he gave her that look, like he was a dying puppy and she had just cruelly stepped on him, she wanted to rush into his arms and tell him she forgave everything.

But no, that wasn't right. She knew what he had done, and she knew that she couldn't forgive him. She wouldn't, because she knew where that would lead, and she didn't want that for either of them. She wanted to be happy, and free, and she thought she had found that with Kyoya, until he did what he had done, and she didn't know if she could ever trust him again.

"Shana, please," he said softly, not above begging if he had to although he would usually be against doing anything that might make him seem less than dignified. He would crawl on his belly if it made her smile at him again, those big black eyes twinkling at him when he knew he'd made her happy.

"Kyoya, you have to leave," Haruhi said, interrupting his thoughts. He was just standing there, staring at Shana, wanting more than anything to go to her, but he didn't know how she would react. Tears burned in his eyes.

"Shana… I'm sorry," he whispered, his shoulders slumping as he forlornly made his way out of the room, the pain in his chest more than he could bear. He got into his car and was about to start driving, but he didn't know where to go. He couldn't go home; Chantelle's awful scent was all over the place, and he made a mental note to call the cleaning service later and have them change all the sheets and scrub every surface.

* * *

He found himself at Tamaki's apartment. When he rang the doorbell, Tamaki sang exuberantly, "Coming, my dear!" before rushing to the door and throwing it open.

When he saw Kyoya looking like – for want of a better word, crap – he cringed and immediately invited Kyoya in. While Kyoya sat on the couch, staring at nothing, he quickly threw the ingredients into the coffee maker – the highest quality coffee beans, ground by hand of course. While the coffee maker was doing its job, he sat next to Kyoya, and asked him what was wrong.

"I messed up," he confessed in a hollow tone. "And now Shana hates me." Saying the words somehow made them real, made it real, and he couldn't hold back his tears anymore. They leaked from his eyes down his cheeks, running down his chin and dripping onto his shirt.

Tamaki didn't know what to do. He had never seen his best friend, the shadow king, who was always calm and collected, cry, or even show any vulnerability. All he could do was hold on to Kyoya and hope everything would be okay.

* * *

_Okay I know this looks worse and worse. But trust me because it's all going to be okay! Have I ever let you down. (; Haha well, I hope you've been enjoying the story this far! Reviews are awesome. And elusive. ): But anyway, bye for now~!_

_Love, _

_Peachy Hikaru_


	14. Chapter 14

It had been a week since that day. The first few days, Shana had refused to step out of Haruhi and Kaori's room, where she was staying on an extended sleepover since she didn't want to see Chantelle's gloating face. Haruhi and Kaori were worried about her, but they couldn't skip classes to keep her company, because they knew that she would be a wreck even when she managed to get back to classes and they needed to know what was going on so they could help her.

On the fourth day, Shana decided that no matter how sad she was, she couldn't let it get in the way of her life. She dragged herself out of bed, forced herself to take a shower and put on some nice clothes, and grabbed her books, which had been untouched for a few days. She sighed as she leaned into the mirror to apply concealer to the bags under her eyes. Makeups managed to somewhat obscure the puffiness of her eyes from constant crying, and a light layer of lip gloss coated her lips. She would have looked good if it wasn't for the look in her eyes, that sad, hopeless look that had been there since she'd found Kyoya and Chantelle together.

Pursing her lips to make sure that the lip gloss was evenly spread, she quickly made her way to the door of her dorm room before Chantelle came back from wherever she'd been the previous night. She'd almost made it out when the door swung open, almost hitting her. Chantelle stepped in and looked vaguely surprised to see her. Then she smiled, and it wasn't a nice smile. Shana tried to duck around her and leave the room – the wounds were still too fresh, she didn't think she could listen to Chantelle go on and on about how wonderful Kyoya was in bed, and how she'd won.

Of course, being Chantelle, she couldn't just let Shana walk out like that, without any form of confrontation or her making Shana feel like crap, although judging by the look in her eyes, she already did.

"Oh hello, Shana!" Chantelle said brightly, bestowing a warm smile on her. "I haven't seen you for a few days; how have you been? Oh, and if you see Kyoya, do help me pass a message to him. I want you to tell him that he was _excellent_," she said, stressing the last word especially, "And I hope he comes to see me again soon."

With that last parting shot, she pushed past Shana and into the room, leaving Shana to walk out, feeling almost as bad as she had the first day. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against the wall next to it, closing her eyes and trying to give herself a pep talk so she could face the rest of the day.

Pushing herself off the wall, she sighed again and walked to her first lecture of the day. She knew the day couldn't get any worse when everyone she passed by suddenly stopped whatever they were looking to stare at her, not even bothering to be subtle about it. She just knew Chantelle had to spread the news of her conquest, and had been prepared for it, but it still hurt to be stared at like some freak.

She slinked into the lecture theatre, trying to be inconspicuous since she knew she was slightly late. Tiptoeing to her seat, which was next to Kaori and Haruhi's, she cringed when the professor saw her. He immediately said sarcastically, "Good _morning_, Shana. How nice of you to grace us with your presence today," obviously referring to the few days when she hadn't come for class.

"Um…" she hedged, trying to figure out what she should say to get out of this situation. It just figured that although he had so many students, this guy would notice her absence from his lectures. "I wasn't feeling well, so I decided to rest at home and not risk passing it to everyone," she said, trying to act blasé about it so that he would buy her act.

He nodded in acceptance and turned away from her, pulling his Powerpoint slides out and beginning the lecture. The lecture was horribly boring, and Shana found herself totally incapable of paying full attention. While she jotted down notes and looked like she was paying attention, her mind started to wander, and she found herself thinking about Kyoya.

Honestly, she didn't know why she even did it, because she knew she would just get more depressed. After all, how could one get the warm fuzzies thinking about how their boyfriend had cheated on them with someone they disliked as much as she disliked Chantelle?

She had been twirling her pen in her hand, but at the thought of Chantelle and Kyoya together, her pen fell from her hand and onto the table. The noise it made upon impact stunned her out of her reverie, and she resumed paying attention to the lecture, pouring every single iota of energy into it so that she wouldn't be able to focus on horrible, terrible things such as Kyoya and Chantelle.

When the lecture ended, she walked out of the lecture theatre, flanked on either side by Kaori and Haruhi. She pondered on the irony of it somewhat bemusedly, that it was here that she had made friends, where her life had finally turned for the better, and now it was here that she was fighting the urge to glare back at all the people who were staring at her, knowing that it would just make things worse.

She was still thinking about it when Tamaki ran up to them. "Haruhi!" he exclaimed, seeming to be in a huge panic about something. She was used to it, because he often ran to her over things like his favourite bento not being sold that day.

"Oh, good morning, Shana," he said politely, his host instincts kicking in automatically. Whatever he had to say to Haruhi must have been very urgent and important because he didn't say anything else to her or Kaori, which he normally would have done.

He pulled Haruhi away and into a corner. "Haruhi, I'm worried about Kyoya," he told her. The fact that he didn't use one of his funny, over-the-top voices belied just how worried and upset he was. She bit her lip and snuck a look at Shana, who was sitting on a nearby bench with Kaori. She was talking to her, but she wasn't smiling, and it made Haruhi's heart squeeze a little. Despite everything that had happened to her, Shana was generally a rather happy person, always in a good mood.

"Well, I'm worried about Shana, but what Kyoya did to her isn't something that can easily be forgotten, and it's possible that it may be healthier for both of them to just move on," she told him, hoping he would see things from her perspective. She was friends with both Kyoya and Shana, and she knew that they truly cared about each other, but she had to choose between them now, and if she had to she supposed she would choose Shana.

"But… but… they're so cute together! And I won't allow it, Haruhi! As your father, I insist that you help me help them get back together!" he exclaimed loudly and passionately. She rolled her eyes at him. "Father? I thought we were over that. You do know that fathers can't be husbands right?" she asked, just to be sure. He seemed to know sometimes, but then he would call her his daughter or pronounce himself her father, and it was slightly worrisome.

"Anyway, I like both of them too, and I think they're good together, but no matter how much chemistry they have, it doesn't change the fact that he cheated on her, and no relationship can work without trust." She bit her lip and sighed again. "Plus, I don't think a relationship between the two of them will be healthy, all things considered." She wasn't sure how much he knew about Shana's past, but just in case, she didn't want to break her trust by telling Tamaki.

His eyes met hers, and she could see the intensity shining in the amethyst depths. He truly wanted to help Kyoya and Shana, and that was why she had fallen for him – because of his willingness, and even determination, to help others. But… she just couldn't be sure that it would work out, and she couldn't bear to think about how much worse it would be if they tried again and failed.

"Haruhi, he cried," Tamaki said, frowning. It had obviously been that which tipped the balance in Kyoya's favour for Tamaki. Kyoya was probably the most reserved of all the Host club members; he rarely displayed any emotion. For him to cry… he must have been so upset. She looked again at Shana. Her eyes seemed haunted, sad. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad for them to get back together after all.

Still, as frustrating as it was for her, it was more so for Tamaki. He wanted to help Kyoya, but he knew that the entire thing was Kyoya's fault, and if Shana didn't want him back, then it was just too damn bad. He just wished he could do more to help them.

* * *

Kyoya was tired. He was tired of crying. He was tired of feeling sad. He was tired of drinking. Yet he found himself sitting on the recliner in his room, holding an entire bottle of scotch and drinking straight from it. Well, at least he had made an improvement – today he'd actually left his bed. He rubbed his swollen eyes.

He wondered idly why he stayed in his room when it was so painful to do so. And yet it was soothing. Shana had left so many physical reminders of herself behind, and his memory supplied the rest. He remembered taking her in the chair, against that wall over there, and in the bed. He remembered them talking and laughing for hours, lying together in bed, just enjoying being in love.

His eyes wandered around the room. He hadn't put on his glasses so everything was blurry, but he could remember the exact spot where all of Shana's things were. Her hand moisturizer on the dresser. He could recall when she'd brought it here. When she'd placed it there, she'd said that since she spent so much time here anyway she might as well leave some of her stuff here so she didn't dry up like a prune. He'd just shrugged and accepted it, secretly being thrilled.

His eyes drifted towards the bedside table, where one of her water bottles still remained. She didn't like to use cups, claiming they held too little water, and she didn't think using plastic bottles was good for the environment or for her health, so she usually carried a bottle around his apartment, and she'd left it there the last time she was here.

He sighed as he crawled back into his bed, still holding the damn bottle of liquor. He popped the cap open and drank from it, before setting it down on the bedside table as he curled up in a foetal position. He buried his face in the pillow, wishing he could still catch a whiff of Shana's scent on the sheets. He'd had to wash everything to remove Chantelle's stench, and it had removed Shana's scent too. He remembered that on those nights when she wasn't here, he would hug a pillow with her scent and be able to fall asleep.

"I miss her so much," he whispered to no one, his voice cracking on a sob. Tears welled in his eyes, and he rubbed them away impatiently. More tears appeared, replacing the ones he'd swiped away with his hand, and he didn't notice, too absorbed in his thoughts. The tears slid onto his pillow, soaking the cover. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, knowing she couldn't hear him, knowing she wouldn't forgive him, knowing that everything was totally futile.

Then he heard the front door slam open. He sat up, the sudden wave of hope blindsiding him for a moment. Maybe it was Shana, come to duke things out with him. If he could just get her to listen to him, to understand that it was just a horrible mistake and he would take it back in a moment, in a heartbeat, if he could, that would make it all better, wouldn't it?

Then he slumped back onto his bed when he heard the footfalls, which were distinctly _not _Shana's, plus there were two sets. He pulled the bedcovers over his head, not wanting to face anyone. "Go away," he mumbled.

Tamaki stormed over to the bed and began pulling on the bedcovers, determined to make Kyoya relinquish control over the blankets. "You had better come out now, Kyoya," he fumed. How dare Kyoya wallow in self-pity like that and make everyone worry?

Haruhi sat down on the other side of the king-sized bed. "Kyoya, come out," she coaxed. When he felt the dip in the bed, he peeked out from under the covers, like a naughty child. "That's probably not all that clean," he croaked. "You probably don't want to sit there," he told her, before ducking back under the covers.

Haruhi abruptly lost patience with him. "Look, I'm here against my better judgement to try to help you, and the least you could do is appreciate it," she told him icily. "I know you feel like shit now, boo hoo, Kyoya has a big booboo on his heart," she told him sarcastically. "But Shana is just as upset as you, if not more," she continued, though she seriously doubted it as she looked at all the empty bottles of Scotch scattered around the room. "And if you truly love her, you'll pull yourself together and convince her of that."

Kyoya's heart squeezed a little at that statement. How could it be possible for anyone to hurt more than he was? The thought of Shana going through that pain because of him was terrible, and he felt horrible. "She's really that upset?" he said hoarsely. He couldn't let his Shana be sad. Even if it was because of him. Especially not because of him. But what could he do?

"I don't want her to be sad. But I saw her face, and she hates me now," he said miserably. Haruhi huffed impatiently, about one step away from punching him in the face. "She doesn't hate you. She's upset and betrayed and thinks you don't love her, but she doesn't hate you."

To be honest, she didn't know why she was even doing this, because Shana would kill her, and what if it didn't work out and Shana was crushed again? She didn't think she could live with the guilt, but still… she thought about how sad Shana was now, and knew that no matter what, Shana still cared very much for Kyoya, and she was absolutely heartbroken because she thought that Kyoya didn't care about her anymore.

"You really think I still have a chance?" Kyoya was almost giddy from hope. Haruhi wouldn't lie to him; if she thought he had a chance, he probably did. "I'll do anything to get her back, I promise."

He folded the blankets back and sat up, ready to go over and beg Shana to return to him.

Haruhi sighed and stopped him by placing a hand over his chest. "You can't just go over and beg," she said, sounding disgusted. "That would do nothing for you."

He sighed. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

Tamaki laughed. "Oh, my dear Kyoya, isn't it obvious? You need a big romantic plan to win her back!"

* * *

_Hehe I hope you enjoyed this chapter. (: Please review, those are awesome. :D I'm sorry this is kinda late, school has been surprisingly busy. -.- _

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	15. Chapter 15

A large romantic gesture? Kyoya's eyebrows knitted together. He didn't know squat about large romantic gestures, despite having been in the Host Club. He was the one that was involved in the logistics of everything, who planned and arranged. He knew squat about romance, but it appeared that for Shana's sake, he had to try – and succeed.

He sighed and dropped his head into his hands. This was all his fault, and he knew he would move the sun and the earth if it got Shana to stop being mad at him, to forgive him and smile at him like he was the most important person in her life again.

When he tried to clear his mind, things started swimming in front of him, and he felt giddy. He sighed and lay back down. He was obviously too drunk to think of anything nice to do for Shana, but he knew he had to sober up if he was going to get his ass in shape and get her back.

It was probably the first time in days he'd gone to sleep with hope that when he woke up, there was something he could do, and it was a nice feeling. A feeling of hope. Because he knew that if it was the last thing he did, he would win her back. There was no other choice; he would never be able to survive without her, now that he had gotten a taste of her perfection.

* * *

Shana sat in the diner, her chin resting on her hand, elbow on the table. Kaori and Haruhi had tried to cheer her up by bringing her out, but it wasn't really working. Somehow, everything they talked about made her think about Kyoya.

She looked down at the scratched wooden tabletop, her eyes seeking out the words that had been scratched there by a pair of lovers that had sat here once. 'Kotoko and Chris', the words read. Her fingers smoothed gently over the marks, and she smiled wistfully. She didn't know who these people were, if they were still together, or anything at all about them. But they had left a permanent mark of their love behind, and she somehow envied them that.

Haruhi and Kaori shared a glance. It wasn't like Shana to be so maudlin and quiet. Usually she was the life of the party, always there was a funny remark, or a sarcastic one, but always witty and always smiling and energetic. She'd changed so drastically after Kyoya that it was incredible, and very worrying.

Kaori picked up a lock of Shana's long hair and began stroking it gently. "Babe, you know we love you and all, but this moping around has got to stop," she said softly but insistently. "You can't just stop living your life because of this. Kyoya was an asshole to you, but that doesn't mean that you can just stop living like this. We're worried about you, dear," she continued, her hand now on Shana's shoulder.

Shana's head was bowed, and she refused to look up at either Kaori or Haruhi. They thought she was ignoring them, until her shoulders shook and a muffled sob was heard. Her hands went up to cover her face, but tears leaked between her fingers and fell onto her lap, making wet little spots on her jeans.

"I miss him," she confessed softly, almost inaudibly. "I know it's stupid, because he was terrible to me, and everything, but I miss him. I loved him, and I can't believe that he would do something like that," she told them. "I just want everything to go back to the way they were before, when I didn't have to worry about anything because I knew he would never do something like that."

"Oh, honey," Kaori said sympathetically as she wrapped her arms around Shana while Haruhi waved her hand, indicating that she wanted the bill. The waitress brought the receipt, and, completely ignoring Shana, waited calmly for Haruhi to pay. Working in a diner frequented by college students, she was, of course, used to girls coming in and crying over whatever it was they would cry about.

When the bill was paid, the three of them walked out of the diner, Shana in the middle. Winter was settling in quickly, and the cold air hit them as soon as they opened the door. Shana cursed under her breath as she rubbed her tears away before they froze on her face. Sticking her hands in her pockets, she walked quickly back to the dormitory, head down against the wind.

Kaori made to follow her, but Haruhi stopped her. "She needs to do this by herself," she told her, and the two of them strolled back together behind Shana, ignoring the biting cold. On their way back, they ran into Mori and Hani, who was holding hands with Sakura. "Kaori, there you are! I've been looking for you! Mom sent a care package, you should come over and take your share."

Kaori laughed, bid Haruhi goodbye, and went over to join them. Mori automatically wrapped his arms around her, giving her a greeting hug. She then took his hand in hers and waved at Haruhi as they departed. Taking in the absolute look of bliss on the faces of the people she cared about, she couldn't help but smile too.

She strolled back slowly, alone, reflecting on how her life had changed since that day when she'd walked into Music Room Three. Although it hadn't seemed like it at the time, it had been a life-changing experience for her, and she couldn't imagine what her life had been like without it.

She could barely understand the depth of the metamorphosis she had undergone with the Host Club, and especially Tamaki. She thought about Shana and Kyoya; about as different as any people could get from Tamaki and her, yet somehow she could totally empathise with them. She knew that Shana felt angry, betrayed and sad over what Kyoya had done, and she had to admit, it was pretty terrible, but this was their chance at love, and she cared about both of them too much to let it slip away.

Knowing that Shana had to have some time to lick her wounds, she decided to let her have some time alone, but she resolved to ensure that she and Kyoya wound up together again.

* * *

Shana walked into her own room for the first time in days. She had been staying with Kaori and Haruhi for days, but she felt like she needed to tear and destroy and rage and cry, and there was no way she was going to subject their room to the kind of abuse she needed to give.

So she slammed the door violently and kicked it for good measure. Picking a bunch of knick-knacks off the table, she threw them hard against the wall, exulting in the resulting smash and the rain of glass and ceramic that occurred. The fact that these items were all Chantelle's made the sound all the sweeter.

Then she threw open the closets and threw all the clothes out one by one, as hard and as hatefully as she could manage, imagining that each piece of skimpy clothing was Chantelle. "You stupid _slut_!" she screamed at a particularly infuriating piece of clothing; a practically non-existent tank top with sparkly sequins that was at least two sizes too small for Chantelle.

A small part of her that was still rational wondered absently where all the people were; shouldn't there be concerned people coming to see what the commotion was about, or – scratch that, where were the gossipy crowds of onlookers who wanted to watch her lose it? The rest of her didn't care, though.

She jumped on Chantelle's bed, grabbed the covers, and then jumped off, still holding them as she tore them off the bed. Throwing them into a heap on the floor, she began stepping on them, jumping, and rubbing her shoes all over them. It occurred to her that she must look ridiculous, scraping her booted feet on the covers, but she ignored it.

The covers sufficiently dirtied for her, she grabbed a corner of it while still standing on them, and tried her best to rip them. Of course, holding it like that, she didn't manage to, but she moved her hands down, and pulled again, and she actually heard a ripping sound, and it made her happy.

Leaving the dirty, and now torn covers in the sad heap on the floor, she then grabbed the pillows off the bed, and tore them apart with her bare hands, causing feathers to fly all over the place.

Exhausted from her destructive rampage, she sank down onto her own bed, buried her face into her own pillows, and cried until she fell asleep.

* * *

Later that night, Kaori returned to the dorm room, with Mori, Hani, Tamaki and the twins in tow. "Well, this is reminiscent of our Host days," Hikaru commented, an eyebrow raised. Hani cuddled Usa-chan excitedly. "I miss the Host Club!" he said conspiratorially. It was odd; whenever he was with the whole club – or most of the club, he would act like a child again. Although he acted more like a normal person of his age would nowadays, something about being with the members of the club made him act like he used to.

"Haruhi! Why is everyone here!" Tamaki cried, evidently dismayed that his "cuddling time" with her had been interrupted. In response, Haruhi glared at him. "Because Kyoya needs as much help as he can get. And if I recall correctly, Kyoya did help you a lot. Especially on our first date, when you showed up in your grandfather's formal attire – " she waved a hand in the general direction of Tamaki's body before continuing, "and he and the others got you into a normal outfit."

The twins sat close together, using their special telepathy to converse. Kaoru noted that it was rare to see Haruhi so impassioned about anything. Hikaru slanted his eyes at Kaoru and gave him a mental bashing for being so stupid. Haruhi and Kyoya had a special bond – and no one knew how that came about, but somehow it had – and Shana was one of Haruhi's best friends. Suffice it to say, Haruhi had a rather large stake in all of this.

"So," Haruhi said, getting back to the topic at hand, "I've drawn up a list of things that Shana needs to know that Kyoya really does care about her, and that he wants her back really bad." She picked a piece of paper off the desk and they all crowded around it. The list had no heading, but it was clearly labelled and numbered.

"One: big romantic gesture," Hani read out. "Two: a sacrifice?" Hikaru read, making it sound like a question. He turned to look at Haruhi sceptically. "Are you sure? Like throwing someone into a volcano?" he asked. This, of course, wound the entire club into a frenzy, with Mori clutching Hani protectively to him, the twins chattering excitedly about how they could make it happen, and Tamaki going into appalled dramatics.

"No, you idiot!" she snapped. This caused all of them to quiet down for a moment, before Tamaki asked, "Then what do you mean?" Seeing that they were all confused, Haruhi sighed. For a bunch of guys who entertained women, they were surprisingly dense when it came to certain affairs of the heart. "Shana has been abandoned and left alone for most of her life, and now this. She has to know that Kyoya really cares about her," she explained in her best _duh_ tone.

"Ohhhh," they all said in unison, as the light bulbs flickered on. She rolled her eyes, wondering not for the first time how she'd gotten saddled with this bunch of idiots.

"Well, it seems that Shana has money and everything, what would she possibly want from Kyoya?" Mori asked sensibly. "I don't think she would be very comfortable with making Kyoya give up something like friendship or a company or anything for her."

They looked at each other. That was true. "Well, maybe a special gesture would be nice," Hani suggested. They looked at each other again. A special gesture? That sounded intriguing. Maybe they were on to something.

* * *

_Hi guys!_

_Sorry for the long break! I had the worst case of writer's block ever. ): I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter (and it was of adequate length). I recently finished the series! And realised that this is not canon. :/ Which kind of sucks but I hope you guys still like it! (: Hehe. This story is literally like writing itself. It's like dictating where it wants to go and I'm just writing it out hehe. Which is kind of disconcerting but fun at the same time! (: I will be updating my Wallflower fic soon. I have some ideas but haven't really put anything concrete down yet… will get on that asap! (:_

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	16. Chapter 16

Shana sighed as she trudged towards the lecture theatres. She'd missed too many days of class, and she couldn't afford to miss any more. Exams were coming up, and there was no way she would be able to keep her grades up if she kept going on the way she was. She repeated the mantra to herself as she forced herself to continue on her way to class. Her attendance for the past few weeks had been shoddy at best, and even when she was there she rarely paid attention. But it was going to be different today, because she was going to pay attention. Because she was a strong woman and wouldn't let anyone – least of all a man – get her down. And she was going to get over it.

Winter was settling in fast, and the cold was biting. The wind whipped her hair into disarray and made the ends of her scarf fly into her face. It seemed whoever controlled the weather was as unhappy as she was.

She continued on, her boots crunching against the light layer of snow on the ground, snow that, once pristinely white, was now grey and crushed by all the people walking on it.

Without warning, her grip on her notebook, file and textbook slipped, and they tumbled to the ground. "Fuck," she muttered as she bent down to pick them up. Her file had somehow managed to open up completely, and papers were all over the place, threatening to get soaked through by the dirty snow.

She hastily picked them up, trying to get to them before they became totally useless. It just figured that this would happen the day she decided to get her ass back in gear and go back to real life. She couldn't believe she'd let anything get to her like that, until she couldn't function properly. What the hell was wrong with her?

She heard the crunch of footsteps against the snow, but ignored it, expecting it to be another student who would walk past her. When a pair of dark brown boots walked into her line of vision and stopped, she looked up – to see an Adonis bending down. He helped her to pick up the last of her papers, her notebook and her textbook, and held them patiently while she put them into her file.

Embarrassed, she smiled tentatively at him. "Thank you," she offered politely. She was about to continue walking, but he flashed a megawatt grin and she was slightly blinded for a moment. "No problem," he told her sincerely, and she was struck for a moment by how perfect he seemed. His voice reverberated through her body, making her tremble slightly.

"I'm Shana," she told him, offering her hand. He smiled again and took it. "Michael. Nice to meet you." His handshake was firm, and his grip was strong and confident without squeezing her hand.

"So where are you headed?" he asked as he fell into step beside her. "Hall Three," she told him. "And I think I'm going to be late, so I have to go now. I'll see you around, okay?" she said, beginning to walk away from him. He effortlessly quickened his pace. "Cool, I'm headed there too."

When they got to the lecture theatre, Shana and Michael parted ways, as she went to sit next to Haruhi and Kaori. "Who's that?" Kaori asked curiously, as she looked at Michael out of the corner of her eye. She had to admit, he was really good-looking, and she was glad that Shana seemed to be getting over her sadness, but it was strange that she was doing the whole rebound thing. That was so unlike her, to indulge in a careless fling just to get over Kyoya.

"Oh, I ran into him on the way here. Somehow I managed to drop all my stuff, so he helped me to pick everything up, and then we walked here together," Shana explained calmly, surprisingly oblivious to the natural assumption that Kaori was drawing.

"O- okay," Kaori said cautiously, not wanting to make any strange accusations. Technically there was nothing wrong with Shana dating some other guy, since she _was_ single at the moment, but Kaori knew that Kyoya was trying to get Shana back, and it would be much harder for him to succeed if there was another guy in the picture. She knew Kyoya had cheated on her friend, but it was clear that he was still very in love with her, and she just felt it was wrong for Shana to be dating someone else.

Haruhi was calmly tapping away on her iPhone. Tamaki had gotten it for her as a birthday present, despite her protests, and she had come to find that she really liked it. While Kaori was freaking out over Shana's perceived new crush, she had decided to ask Tamaki about this new student.

She put her phone back in her bag, which was resting against her leg under the table. "Are you guys going to sit down?" she invited the two other girls, bringing them back to where they were. A quick glance at the clock told them that the lecture was about to start, and they hastily took their seats.

Throughout the lecture, Kaori and Haruhi kept sneaking glances at Shana, who seemed happier than they'd seen her in a long time. Maybe she was getting on with her life, or maybe Michael was a rebound, but they truly hoped that it was the first, rather than the second.

* * *

After the lecture ended, they headed to the canteen for lunch. After too many days of eating cheap takeout that was delivered to her dorm, Shana was looking forward to some real food.

At the entrance to the canteen, she hovered for a second, her eyes sweeping the area. The canteen was crowded and she caught a glimpse of someone who looked like Kyoya from the back, but there were people in the way and she couldn't be sure. Either way, she had been thinking of having some real food the entire morning, and she wasn't about to let him stop her from eating.

She stalked purposefully across the hall to the counter, while checking what they were selling that day. "I'll have a beef don with egg, oh, and a pork katsu on the side, and miso soup please," she ordered. She started to order a banana split, but realized it would melt and decided to come back for it later.

The woman who was taking her order stared at her, stunned. How could someone so little eat so much? Impatiently, Shana arched a brow at her. "Yes?" she asked archly. Her acerbic tone snapped the woman out of her stunned silence, and she immediately busied herself with getting the order ready.

It took almost too long for Shana; as she saw the plates her food was on slowly being carried to the tray in front of her, she wanted to scream at the woman, _Hurry up! I'm so hungry!_ She managed to refrain, but just barely. When her meal was ready, she hastily paid and walked as fast as she dared without bumping into someone or tripping to the table where she usually sat with Haruhi and Kaori, and whoever wanted to sit with them that day.

When she set her tray on the table, she sat down and finally – _finally – _picked up her chopsticks and dug them into the white, fluffy rice, picking it up and putting it in her mouth. Damn, it was good. Haruhi and Kaori set their trays on the table too, Kaori sitting next to her, and Haruhi sitting opposite them. They looked slightly incredulous at the amount of food on her tray, but she ignored them.

"Um… are you sure you can finish that much food?" Kaori asked, eyeing the mountain of food doubtfully. She knew how bad Shana felt about leaving even a little food uneaten, especially meat, because, as she liked to say whenever anyone asked her why she forced herself to eat, an animal had died for that meat.

"Of course I can," she said, speaking around a mouthful of beef, egg and rice. She swallowed, took a spoonful of miso soup, and ate a piece of pork, drenched in katsu sauce.

Sure enough, before they were even halfway through their normal-sized meals, she swallowed her last mouthful of food, put her chopsticks back down on the rim of the bowl, and settled back into her chair with a replete sigh. "That hit the spot," she said happily, rubbing her belly gently.

Just then, Tamaki and Mori came up to them. "Hello, beautiful ladies," Tamaki said exuberantly, before he sat down in the empty seat next to Haruhi and proceeded to try and kiss her, while she kept eluding him. "I'm eating!" she snapped at him, causing him to shrink back with a horrified look on his face and begin whining.

Mori was more reserved; he nodded at them in greeting before sitting down next to Kaori and kissed her on the cheek in greeting. She reached over to give him a one-armed hug while continuing to eat. They murmured softly at each other before Kaori giggled, picked up some food with her chopsticks, and fed him with it.

Shana looked at the two couples, smiling wistfully. She remembered the way she and Kyoya would share food, or bicker playfully the way Haruhi and Tamaki were doing. It seemed strange that Haruhi and Tamaki were together; they were complete opposites in so many ways, so different it was almost incomprehensible. Yet they fit somehow, which was proven when Haruhi suddenly capitulated and let Tamaki pull her onto his lap, giggling as she kissed him. Of course, that had to have something to do with the fact that she had finished her meal.

Seeing the two couples, Shana suddenly felt sick. She couldn't sit here anymore, although she knew they didn't mean to be mean and rub their happiness in her face. They probably hadn't even realized they were being mean, since they were so used to this. It wasn't their fault her love life was a mess. Still, her stomach was roiling, and she muttered, "I'm going back to my room for a nap, guys," before grabbing her tray and returning it on her way out, her good mood evaporated.

Kyoya and the twins were sitting at another table, watching the entire display. None of them looked particularly happy. Kyoya was murderously angry that they had been so insensitive to Shana; how could they do that to her? He was going to kill the two of them. Hikaru looked sadly at Haruhi and Tamaki. He knew he had no chance with Haruhi anymore; the ring on her finger was proof enough of that, but it didn't stop him from foolishly pining away for her. Kaoru, watching Hikaru, felt sad on his twin's behalf.

The Host Club – minus Hani, who was with Sakura somewhere – had been having lunch together, when the three girls had walked in. The moment they had noticed them, Tamaki and Mori had wanted to go say hi. Kyoya had desperately wanted to join them, but he knew he shouldn't disturb Shana, much as he wanted to just hear her voice and see her smile.

When she walked out of the canteen and into the biting cold air, her head lowered and her hands pushed into the pocket of her overcoat, she made such a dejected and sad image that he couldn't help himself. He quickly gathered all this things and almost ran – Kyoya Ootori _never _ran after anyone – after her.

"Shana!" he shouted, catching her attention as he hurried towards her. He thought he saw the ghost of a smile for a moment as she turned to look at him, but her face frosted over immediately when she turned to face him squarely. She looked at him expressionlessly, then her gaze simply slid over him, and she turned back and continued walking.

It was as if the floodgates had opened again. Her wounds, freshly scabbed over, tore open and bled freshly again. Seeing him right _there_, knowing she could just take a few steps and be in his embrace again, had almost been enough to weaken her determination never to let him near her again.

Hell, who was she kidding? She had been a second away from sprinting towards him and flinging herself at him. Her eyes closed against the bitter wind as she trudged away from him, her booted feet making crunching noises in the snow. Her eyes prickled hotly with tears, and she told herself that it was because the wind was drying them out.

Forcing herself to walk away from him was harder than it should be, and she reprimanded herself harshly as she put one foot in front of the other, bringing herself away from him, away from the man she loved. But he obviously didn't feel the same way about her, did he. No, that was why he'd been in bed with Chantelle.

"Shana." His voice was much closer this time, and she whirled around, starting to panic. And found herself almost nose to nose with him. His arms came up around her, locking her into place, pressed up against him. Then he dropped his forehead onto hers and closed his eyes for a moment, totally freaking her the fuck out.

It wasn't his fault. He'd been practicing his speech in his mind, trying to get it perfect in the small amount of time he had while catching up with her so he could convince her to forgive him. But the moment she was in his arms, all soft and warm, everything had fled his mind. He hadn't even been aware of what he was doing until he found himself almost kissing her. He could smell her lovely scent, and it just seemed so natural, and he found himself instinctively doing what he had done so many times over the past months.

He was wrenched back into reality when she flung herself out of his grasp violently. "No," she said softly, trembling like a leaf, and not only from the cold. "You can't do this. You can't break my heart and then expect everything to magically be okay again. You can't. You can't…" she stopped, because she was crying too hard to speak any more.

She ran away from him. She wasn't very sure where she was going, but she knew she couldn't go back to her room in case Chantelle was there. She somehow found herself in the old library on campus, which was rarely used now. She curled up into a ball in a corner and rested her head on her knees, crying her heart out. Why had he done that? Why was he so cruel? Why did he want her to keep remembering?

Kyoya followed her as she ran. He couldn't help it. He knew he had royally fucked up, but he _had _to make it right again. He didn't know how, but for the first time ever, that didn't bother him in the least.

He followed her into the musty old library, and his eyes searched her out in the dark room. He finally found her huddled in a corner, crying like the world was ending, and his heart broke at the sight of it. He couldn't go to her and make her cry any more. But he couldn't leave her here either. He hovered there for a moment, wondering what to do, the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her so very strong. Yet how could he, when he was the reason she was crying so hard?

* * *

_MUAHAHAH cliffhanger! :D I'm quite happy with this chapter; I hope it makes up for the long long long hiatus (ahem sorry guys). I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but keep in mind that I'm going to school now, and this year there's so much more stuff to do so it's probably going to take quite some time. I'll try to finish this story up asap though, pinky swear! Fingers crossed that I'll get everything finished soon. :O_

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	17. Chapter 17

He went to her, of course. How could he not? He couldn't bear to see her so sad, and he needed her, a soothing balm to his soul. He didn't think she would appreciate him following her, but Angry Shana was better than Crying Shana.

He knelt in front of her, wanting to badly to draw her into his arms. "Shana." The one word had an astounding effect on her. She gave a hiccup and her sobs ceased completely, although he could still see her shaking. He tried to pull her into his arms and she shrank back, away from him.

His heart clenched at the sight. "Please," he whispered brokenly. "Don't do that." He couldn't stand having her shrink away from him, like he was so abhorrent to her. His arm was still outstretched, and she raised her head and slapped it away from her.

"Don't what." Her voice was cold and emotionless, carefully controlled. "Don't be mad at you for _cheating on me _with some _skank_?" As she spoke, her voice grew louder, the anger seeping into her tone. "And not just any skank, but the skank who has tried to ruin my life just because she didn't want a roommate who was younger than her and not into partying the way she was?" Her voice grew louder and louder, until she was practically shouting at him.

He flinched. There were so many things he wanted to say, to defend himself against her accusations, but he couldn't. She was right, and there was nothing he could say to redeem himself in her eyes. There were so many things he wanted to tell her. He wanted to throw himself at her feet and beg for her forgiveness. They had been endgame. Then he had ruined it all.

She lurched slightly unsteadily to her feet, and stood with her arm braced against the wall. "No, Kyoya, I can't do that."

All the anger seemed to dissipate instantly, and she hunched over as she walked back out of the library. Now that the haze of anger had passed, she felt weak and slightly giddy. Leaving the library, she wandered the campus until she found a bench, and sat heavily. Leaning against the backrest, she watched the snowflakes drift down from the heavens, and whimsically tried to catch snowflakes in her glove, but they always melted before she could bring them closer to her face to look at them.

It reminded her of her relationship with Kyoya, so beautiful, but when subject to anything, it would melt into nothingness. She took her hand out of her wet glove and rubbed her face with it; her cold hand felt good against her face, where salty tears were drying and felt rather uncomfortable.

She sighed as she slipper her hand back into her glove, standing up to leave. She turned around and tried to figure out where she was, but she had wound up in unfamiliar territory and wasn't sure how to get back.

"Damn," she muttered, annoyed. Taking a guess, she wandered down the path, hopefully in the direction she'd come from. "Just my crappy luck, I guess," she muttered as she scowled to herself.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" The voice suddenly sounded behind her, causing her to whip around in a panic. Her hand automatically sought her can of mace in her bag. "Stay back!" she cried, brandishing the can like it was a sword. Before she could spray, Michael pushed her can down gently. "Chill, chill! It's only me!" he told her, trying not to laugh.

"Oh," she said sheepishly, blushing. "I'm sorry," she said genuinely. "It's just that I'm kind of lost and stuff," she finished lamely.

He smiled. "Well I know the way back, so why don't you just follow me," he offered. "How did you wind up here, anyway?" he asked curiously. "Few people come here, and especially not in winter."

"Uh…" Shana was stumped for a moment. "Well, I was just walking, and somehow got lost," she fudged, unwilling to tell him just why she'd gotten lost there. "Where are we, anyway?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Her ploy worked, although Michael gave her a look that said he knew she was trying to dodge the subject.

"We're still on campus, we're just in a kind of isolated place. No one really comes here, but I think it's really nice," he said rather conspirationally. She looked around, and noticed that there were some sakura trees around them. They weren't in season now, of course, but it would be a beautiful place to come to in the spring. Then she automatically wondered if Kyoya would think it was as nice as she did, and got sad again.

"So… how's it going?" Michael asked, his gaze straight ahead. When she looked up at him, confused, he turned to look at her. "I mean, I heard about your breakup. That really sucks, huh." Shocked and stunned, she stopped in her tracks. "How did you know?" she asked accusingly.

He shrugged. "Chantelle told a whole bunch of people, and it's a hot topic on campus now." When she was silent, he continued. "You know, it might do you some good to talk about it. I promise I won't spread it."

She was silent for a moment, contemplating it. If what he'd said was true, and she was a topic of gossip on-campus, then she probably had nothing to lose anyway.

"Well…" she began.

* * *

"Who the hell is this Michael asshole. He thinks he can just come into the picture and steal Shana from me? He's wrong." Kyoya muttered as he paced the living room floor of Tamaki's apartment. Tamaki simply watched him, his violet eyes following Kyoya's movements.

"From what you're saying, she's pretty damn pissed at you, so are you sure it's a good idea to still be so possessive of her? Right now you're acting like the jealous bastard, and we both know how much she likes that," Tamaki said, looking bored, although he was anything but.

He was more perceptive than most people gave him credit for, and he knew that more than half of the reason why Kyoya was so upset was because he had no right to tell Michael to screw off, and he knew it.

Tamaki continued. "Obviously the begging didn't work. Maybe you should try something else now."

Kyoya turned to glare. "I'm sure you had a field day with that," he snapped irritably. Tamaki had to smother a grin, because it had been rather amusing. "Not at all," he lied smoothly, although he felt a twinge of guilt for lying to his friend.

He stalked over to the couch and slumped down on it hopelessly. "Well, Mr Princely, do you have any ideas?" he asked, although the words tasted bad in his mouth. He couldn't believe he was actually asking for advice from Tamaki, of all people, but it seemed he had no more clues.

Tamaki jumped up excitedly. "Oh, I was just _waiting_ for you to ask!" he sang delightedly, spinning around. He danced around the room, retrieving his laptop. While he set everything up so that the laptop was hooked up to the projector in the room and showing a PowerPoint presentation, Kyoya reclined on the couch, wearing his usual inscrutable Shadow King mask.

Tamaki gave him a long presentation on what he had to do, which mostly boiled down to calling a Host Club reunion ball, and getting Kaori and Haruhi to drag here there to listen to his 'grand speech', which would be about how she'd changed his life and how he desperately wanted her back. Then of course, she would fall into his arms and they would live happily ever after.

And as much as he thought it was a lovely idea, and might just do the trick, he was loath to tell his idiot best friend that, as it would surely lead to an emotional outburst. However, when Tamaki finished his presentation and stared at Kyoya with a mix of pride and anticipation over his reaction, he found himself mumbling, "It's not a bad idea. I suppose it might work."

Then he braced himself for the inevitable explosion, which followed soon after. "KYOYA!" Tamaki squealed excitedly as he hugged Kyoya tightly. "I knew you would love it!"

Trying stiffly to squirm out of Tamaki's grasp without crumpling his clothes any more than they had already been, he raised a brow. "I highly doubt that you can claim all credit for it," he said dryly. This plan was too structured, too non-ridiculous, for Tamaki to have come up with it by himself.

"Well, the others helped," he said, glossing over that part smoothly.

The plan was simple, really. The Host Club would host a ball, and Haruhi and Kaori would drag Shana along. Kyoya would give a speech, and formally resign from his post as a host, although he would still take care of the club's administrative work, because he had found someone he could not stop thinking of, even when with another girl.

For Kyoya, who was usually so private and apathetic about everything, this would be a huge ordeal. He shuddered at the thought of having to announce his private affairs to every one of the crazy fan girls, but steeled his nerves when he remembered that it was for Shana. He was going to get her back if it killed him, and at this moment, he was pretty sure that it would.

"Fine," he finally said, cutting into Tamaki's monologue about how amazing this plan was. "I'll make the arrangements."

As Kyoya called people and typed on his laptop, making arrangements for the location, the food and beverages, and the printing of invitations for the event, Tamaki watched him with a small smile on his face.

It was refreshing to see Kyoya in such a tizzy; usually the other man's demeanour was so calm and affixed that Tamaki occasionally felt like pouring iced water on his head just to see how he would react. He also thought it was rather adorable that Kyoya was so flustered over a girl; something he never would have expected of the cold-as-ice host.

Oh, how the mighty fall, he thought with a small twist of his lips. He was happy for his friend; he'd worried often that Kyoya would always be too focused on his life goals to take the time to look for a little romance, but it seemed that love had managed to sneak up and bite him hard on the ass.

* * *

"Wow, that sounds really bad," Michael told her, when she finished telling him about her shameful story. "But you know, it sounds like he really is sorry. Why don't you talk to him, just let him explain himself. He might surprise you. And it sounds like you really miss him too, so it can't hurt to just hear him out."

He toyed with her hair as she digested his advice. "Maybe I should," she agreed, turning to look at him.

It was then that she realised he wasn't just messing with her hair, he'd made not one, but several small braids that he'd somehow managed to twine together. She stroked them gently, wondering how he'd managed to do that. She couldn't even do it.

"How…" she asked, surprised. He batted her hands away. "Don't touch, you're messing it up." Obediently, she placed her hands back in her lap, letting him braid her hair, as he wanted to. The action was oddly reminiscent of what she did with late-night sleepovers, since Kaori had been obsessed with her hair since she'd dyed it back to her natural colour.

When he was done, he did an intricate twist and managed to hold it all together without the use of a hair tie.

"Wow, that's really impressive," she told him, admiring his handiwork.

He smiled almost sadly, casting his gaze downwards. "Well, my parents didn't seem to think so."

She turned to look at him, silently asking him to elaborate, although she already had an idea of what he was saying. "Are you gay?" she asked the question with no recrimination. In her opinion, there was nothing wrong with that – she knew better than most what judging and discriminating against someone could do to that person.

He said nothing, but nodded almost imperceptibly. She could tell that he was nervous; scared that she would jump up and run away from him in horror, tell everyone and ruin his life.

Instead, she hugged him tightly, letting him know beyond the shadow of a doubt that she accepted him for who he was, even if others wouldn't. The quiet acceptance and support he felt from a near stranger, something his parents hadn't even given him, was more infinitely profound than anything he'd felt before.

He raised his arms and hugged her back tightly.

* * *

Shana and Michael became very close friends; finding that they had so much in common and they complemented each other's personalities very well.

Haruhi and Kaori were worried; they knew about Kyoya's plan and their role in it, but how could he win her back if she was already with someone else? Shana and Michael seemed so inseparable, and so good together, that it wasn't hard to see why they were worried.

Kaori had even broached the subject with her once, asking her why she hung out with Michael so much now. "Are the two of you together?" Shana had abruptly started laughing so hard she'd almost fallen off the bed she was sitting on. "No, Kaori, don't worry. I'm not his type," she said cryptically, gasping the words out between peals of laughter.

She'd refused to tell them what she'd meant, but although they wanted Shana and Kyoya to be together, they couldn't deny that Michael was good for Shana; she'd been happier in the week that she'd started to hang out with him, than in the weeks before that.

Kyoya was, of course, furious and upset. He worried that he wouldn't be able to win her back, worried that she was going to sleep with him, was going to give him a gift that Kyoya had claimed for himself in his mind. Archaic as though it sounded, Shana was his, and he had no intention of letting her go.

He threw himself into a frenzy of planning, outdoing himself as he put together a beautiful and extravagant event. Before he sent the invitations out, he held hers in his hand for a moment, wishing as hard as he could that Haruhi and Kaori would do their part, that she would be at the ball. There would be no meaning to the ball, and all his effort would have been for naught, if she didn't turn up. _Please, please, let her come._

With that, he sent the invitations out.

* * *

_Phew! Haha I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it seems awfully stilted and disjointed to me. :/ Let me know what you guys think of it please! (:_

_One more thing. (This part is shameless self-promotion and you can skip this if you want though hahah) I made a blog! peachyhikaru (dot) wordpress (dot) com :D Please go there and check it out if you're interested hehe, I post about everything there, commentaries about anything and everything, reviews about some animes that I follow (some ZnT and Shakugan are up there) and fanfiction ideas (other than animes; I'm thinking about branching out of this genre) are also posted there, so you can comment and leave suggestions and opinions there. I love hearing from you guys!_

_Until next time,_

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru (:_


	18. Chapter 18

The party was soon the talk of the campus; how could it not be? A party hosted by the Ootori family, in their residence, was a big deal. The party was by invitation only, although so many people had been invited that it hardly mattered. Even that Michael boy had been invited, although the mere thought of him made Kyoya's fists clench and his lips curl in disdain.

The one person who hadn't been invited was Chantelle; childish though it might be, the little snub made Kyoya feel slightly better about the entire debacle. Imagining her scowling expression as she had to admit that she hadn't been invited to the big party was an enormous source of entertainment for him in the following weeks.

Of course, what he hadn't anticipated was that over the course of the weeks between his invitations going out and the party, Shana and Michael had inexplicably become as thick as thieves. They hung out together all the time now, and every time he heard the rumours that they were going out together, his face would pinch up and he was hard pressed not to slug whoever told him.

Kyoya sighed and took his glasses off, placing them on the table and rubbing his eyes with his fists, a habit he'd picked up as a little boy and hadn't been able to shake. The past few days had been particularly grueling; closing three business deals, making all the last-minute arrangements for the party, and keeping up with his studies for the upcoming exams. He wondered why he had to go to school for four years to learn all the things he'd known since he was like ten years old, for a piece of paper allowing him to do things he'd been doing for six years already.

The party was tonight, and he really hoped that Shana showed up – it would all go to waste if she hadn't. Haruhi and Kaori were under strict instructions to bring her here even if they had to tie her up and stick her in the boot of Tamaki's limo. Even though it sounded appalling to do something like that to Shana, it wasn't really. Tamaki's limo was so ridiculously luxurious that even the boot had air-conditioning and a nice, soft carpet. He wondered if Tamaki had gotten around to installing the mini-fridge he'd wanted to, and the chair.

Sighing again, he put his glasses back onto his face and went down to check on the party preparations. He found the place in an uproar; servants were hurrying about, the butler and footmen were directing caterers and the external suppliers for everything he'd arranged, and his housekeeper stood on the stairs overseeing everything with a severe frown.

"Everything looks like it's going well," he remarked to the housekeeper as he stood on the steps next to her. "Yes, it is," she replied coolly. "After you had a fit and fired three maids when the previous caterer cancelled, no one dares to make any sort of mistake." She glanced at him shrewdly, and asked rhetorically, "Is there any reason why this party is particularly important to you?" She knew there was, of course. In the first place, Kyoya rarely threw parties, and when he did, he'd always handled it in a very cool and detached manner.

"Yes, there is," he replied unnecessarily, but didn't bother to elaborate. The middle-aged housekeeper nodded, taking the hint, and dropped the subject.

He continued down the stairs, doing his 'intimidating all the servants so they're more productive' walk, as he strolled through the dining room, the ballroom, and finally to the foyer, where the guests would be entering. Leaning against the grand double doors of the mansion and looking at his house, he wondered if his guests would be suitably awed. The grand foyer was carpeted in a soft, plush, expensive carpet. The corridor yawned, large and impressive, lit by chandeliers made of the finest cut crystals.

Of course this wasn't impressive to him; his family home in the suburbs of Tokyo was much more decadent. Still, he figured it would be enough.

Walking into the ballroom, he looked approvingly at the decorations that were being set up. Although he'd left most of it up to the discretion of his housekeeper, she'd done exactly what he'd wanted. It seemed like things were going well, so he retreated back into his suite of rooms.

* * *

Shana lay on Kaori's bed, floating in the grey area between sleep and wakefulness. She yawned and turned onto her side, reaching for a pillow as she began to drift into sleep.

"Wake up!" Kaori exclaimed as she jumped onto the bed. Shana jolted awake in a panic, before seeing that it was just Kaori and turning onto her belly. "Go away," she mumbled, burying her face under Kaori's pillow.

"No! You have to get ready and I know you aren't going to do it yourself, so we've brought the heavy artillery," Kaori said as she picked up a pillow and began hitting Shana with it. "And don't you dare fall asleep on my bed, you keep drooling on my pillows," she added.

Shana lifted the pillow on top of her head for a second to give Kaori the hairy eye. "Just five more minutes," she moaned, burying her face back into the mattress. Kaori frowned. When she got up to move off the bed, Shana thought she'd won, and settled in for a nice long nap.

Suddenly, the sheets she was lying on were lifted and she was rolled off them and onto the ground. Lying on the carpeted floor, blinking to clear her eyes, she made out four grinning faces staring down at her.

She sat up and rubbed her hands over her face. "You guys suck," she grumbled, as she started to stand. "And what are you doing here," she asked rhetorically, glaring at Sakura and Michael.

"I know you, and you're going to need some major help with the whole formal look." Shana rolled her eyes but accepted the explanation with a minimum of grumbling.

"What about you?" she asked Michael. "You were supposed to pick me up at seven."

He shrugged. "I'm gay, honey. I probably know more about this stuff than you ever will. Also playing dress up with you sounds fun." She glared at him. "So you're just here to play dress up dolly with me?" she asked.

"Well, I wouldn't put it quite that way, but yes, that's right. You even look like a doll," he told her. She glared at him.

"Stop glaring at Michael and take a nice bubble bath," Haruhi commanded, tossing a big, fluffy towel at her, and the lingerie that Shana had bought specially for the occasion – she hadn't wanted to, but Haruhi and Kaori had insisted that nothing she owned would fit under her dress and forced her to buy a new set of lingerie.

"Where's my dress?" Shana asked. She was absolutely not about to sit around indefinitely in her lingerie, which consisted of a tiny thong and a matching push-up strapless bra. It was definitely not something she was comfortable with, but of course, Haruhi and Kaori had absolutely insisted.

"You are not going to destroy your dress by soaking it with your wet hair!" Sakura butted in, frowning. Shana sighed, resigned. "Fine, give me some clothes to wear at least." Haruhi went over to the dresser, pulled out a tank top and shorts, and threw it at Shana.

"Do you have to throw everything at me?" she asked, shaking her head resignedly as she walked into the bathroom and locked the door. "And no one better bother me for the next hour!" she yelled as she started the water and dumped a healthy amount of bubble bath into the tub.

"Remember to shave! And moisturize!" Kaori yelled right back. Shaking her head, Shana stepped into the bath and sighed as the warm water leached all the stress and tension from her body. It really was incredible how her friends could make her go from a restful state of sleep to tense and annoyed.

Half an hour later, the loud knocking on the door stunned Shana, and she jolted. "I don't hear any splashing! Are you washing your hair or did you drown in the water?" Kaori shouted. Water sloshed over the edge of the tub as she jumped, and she grumbled as she got up and grabbed her shampoo.

Fifteen minutes later, she was out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head. Kaori walked into the bathroom next, and exclaimed loudly at the mess she found in the bathroom. "Oh my God! What on earth did you do here!" she cried out, surveying the huge amounts of water that had sloshed out of the tub and soaked the bathroom mat.

"You scared me when you suddenly shouted at me," Shana explained. "It's a natural reaction to jolt."

Grumbling, Kaori shut the door and soon they could hear water running.

"Okay babe, we're going to turn you into a swan tonight," Michael told her, smiling excitedly. Shana could practically see him rubbing his hands together in evil glee as he surveyed the many products on the dressing table, ranging from hair care products to every single makeup item that the four girls had – and that was quite a bit. She guessed that between the four of them, they probably had every colour and shade of every product there was.

"Don't you have to get ready and make yourself pretty or something?" she grumped at him, rubbing her hair vigorously with her towel. When she was satisfied that is was as dry as she could get it, she shook it back out and picked up a blow-dryer.

Haruhi retrieved the dryer out of her hands. "You suck at drying your hair," she told her matter-of-factly. Shana huffed. "It's not like you're much better at it," she complained. "You did pretend to be a boy for an entire year."

Michael quickly snatched the hair dryer. "I'll do it," he said. He proved adept at it, too; giving her a nice shiny blow-out. Shana wondered why she was even surprised; Michael had proven to be a man of many surprises.

She turned her head left and right, admiring her hair in the mirror. "This is nice," she said approvingly, looking up at Michael in the mirror. He grinned evilly. "Oh, we're not done yet."

By the time it was time to leave, Shana's face had about a ton of makeup on it – all tastefully applied, of course – and her hair was elaborately done in a sleek and elegant updo that she had never seen before, on anyone.

"This hair is awesome," she told Michael, admiring it in the mirror. He grinned proudly in response. "It is, though, isn't it? An experiment that turned out very well, if I do say so myself," he said, almost preening.

He then quickly showered and changed; the girls marveled at how he managed to get ready in fifteen minutes. They sat around talking about random things as they waited for their ride to pick them up.

They didn't have long to wait; ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Haruhi excitedly exclaimed, "Oh, that's Tamaki!" as she hurried to the door and quickly slipped her feet into her heels before opening the door.

"Ah, my beautiful princess, you look so exquisite this evening!" Tamaki cried out dramatically as he literally swept her off her feet, leaned her back, and kissed her romantically. Even as she huffed at him in annoyance, her amusement was apparent in her manner and the twinkle in her eyes. When he let her up, he wrapped an arm around her and hugged her close to his side, where she snuggled contentedly.

Shana looked at them enviously for a moment as she watched the two of them interact. "I'd tell you that you look handsome, too, but you already know that and we don't want your head not to be able to fit in the limo," Haruhi said teasingly.

"Oh, you wound me, my fair lady!" Tamaki exclaimed as he threw his head back and pressed a hand to his heart. Haruhi rolled her eyes, picked up her clutch and, holding Tamaki's hand, dragged him along to the lift.

The rest of them followed, amused by their banter. It had been a bittersweet experience for Shana; watching the two of them interact had been fun, and they were entertaining as always, but she found that it made her miss Kyoya all the more. Tucking her hand into the crook of Michael's elbow, she sighed. He shot her an understanding glance and squeezed her hand.

In the limo, Sakura and Kaori both snuggled up to their significant others and Shana sat with Michael, talking about random things to try and pass the time away. Shana found herself more grateful than ever to Michael; he was incredibly intuitive and had realized almost immediately how sad her friends' perfect relationships made her. She just hoped that the party wouldn't be too harrowing an experience.

* * *

Kyoya stood near the entrance of the ballroom in which the party was being held, smiling and greeting guests politely, although it was the last place he wanted to be. He wanted to run to the entrance of the house and wait there like a faithful puppy for Shana to arrive, but it would be unacceptable.

Turning away from the daughter of a particularly well-off business mogul from Ouran, who was also one of his fans from his Host Club days, he turned back towards the grand double doors and his breath caught in his throat. His fellow Host Club members were here with their dates, and Shana was with… Michael. He frowned at the unexpected kink in his plans.

Still, he found himself ignoring Michael entirely, a surreal experience for the Ice King who missed nothing, and focusing all his attention on Shana. As if in a romantic movie scene, he could swear that the whole world faded away until it was just the two of them, and had he mentioned that she looked smoking hot?

Her classic little black dress was strapless, with a sweetheart neckline, and ended at mid-thigh, with rows of rhinestones beginning at her hip and stretching out halfway across her skirt. There was a fine line between sexy and trampy, and she was skating really close to that edge, but being Shana, she managed to pull it off incredibly well. So well, in fact, that he found himself fighting an erection.

Looking around the opulently decorated ballroom, Shana had to marvel at the beauty of it. The Ootori family didn't do anything by half measures, and this wasn't an exception in the least. The floor was tiled with marble, and enormous chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Waiters walked around the room with trays full of snacks and beverages.

Sweeping her gaze across the room, her eyes found Kyoya and she was absolutely transfixed. He looked incredible in his tux and seemed so comfortable socializing with so many people. Then he looked away from the young woman he'd been talking to and glanced her way.

Their gazes met and held for a moment. It was a strange experience for Shana, feeling all those conflicting emotions rising in her. A part of her wanted to scream and run all the way back to her dorm and hide under her covers – not that she could run very fast, wearing these stiletto heels – but another part of her wanted to scream and run into Kyoya's arms. But neither would have been appropriate, so she just stood there and stared.

* * *

_Yay! It's done! Haha sorry I went so long without updating this; I was epically busy with schoolwork and all, plus I had some writer's block… ._. So yeah haha. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, although I don't really think it's some of my best work. For those of you who reviewed to motivate me to write more, thank you so much! You guys are really awesome._

_ I will be accepting suggestions for the next chapter since it's nearing the end of the story, so what would you guys like to see? (; Please review and tell me!_

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	19. Chapter 19

A split second, during which everything faded into the background, blurring away into insignificance. In that moment, everything that was Ootori Kyoya was completely focused on Shana, the pain that he could see in her eyes, in her stiff posture, resonating within him, shattering him, disintegrating him, and slowly putting him back together again. For a moment, it seemed like an invisible tether stretched from her soul to his, connecting them irrevocably.

And then she turned away and started moving towards the exit, and that moment ended. The tether holding them together snapped, the sound echoing through the hollow in his heart, the empty space where she was supposed to fit.

In all of Kyoya's life, he'd never done anything impulsive or impolite. It had been groomed into him since the day he was born – walk, don't run. Stand and smile at the person who's talking to you, even when you don't want to be there. _Think before you act_. There was no conscious thought involved in his next action, something which had happened only once before, the first time Tamaki had peered deep into his soul and seen all that he was.

Mumbling some inane excuse to the girl he was talking to – the daughter of an oil magnate or something of the sort – he dashed through the throngs of people in the ballroom, following the trail of the only girl who made him lose his mind. And, as he ran, the pounding of his heart was in tune with the mantra repeating itself in his head: _please, please, please, please, please…_

Waiting impatiently for the footman to fetch her coat, Shana turned back in the direction of the ballroom, half hoping that Kyoya would come after her. She grumbled under her breath as she shifted her weight from one foot to another, willing the footman to hurry up so she could get the hell out of here. What on earth had she been thinking before, coming here and lying to herself that all would be fine? All would _not _be fine, she knew that much now. She looked longingly at the magnificent front doors of the mansion, wondering if she could just make a break for it.

Then again, it was winter and given what she was wearing, she would probably freeze before she could get a cab. _God damn it_, she fumed silently. Was it really so hard to find her coat? Everything was organized and numbered anyway.

Just as she was about to seriously lose her temper, the footman emerged from the massive walk-in closet and handed her the cream knee-length coat she'd worn here. She smiled politely as she thanked him and slipped it on even as she was moving as quickly as she could towards the exit. Damn these shoes that made it impossible for her to run!

She was almost at the front door, her hand outstretched to push it open, when she heard it. The quick footsteps, accompanied by his unmistakable voice, shouting her name louder than she'd ever heard him say anything before. She turned for a split second to see Kyoya running towards her. In that instant, tearing her eyes away from him and walking into the freezing cold night was the hardest thing she could ever imagine doing.

The cold air of the night hit her like a frigid slap to the face, startling her, and she convinced herself that the tears welling up in her eyes was because of the ferocious wind – a blatant lie, other than the freezing air and a slight breeze the air was still. She walked as quickly as she could on the cobbled walkway, cursing her decision to wear these stupid shoes, contemplating whether or not she should take them off. Then again, if she did, her feet would freeze to the ground in an instant.

She was trying so hard to drown out the breaking of her heart – again! - with these inane thoughts that she didn't even hear Kyoya approaching, until he caught her arm. She whirled around with a gasp when she felt his strong grip, teetering off balance as she started to fall backwards.

Automatically, his arms came around her, catching her and halting her fall even as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck to break her fall.

Once she got back her bearings and realized the intimate position they were in, she quickly withdrew her arms and tried to step away from his embrace, but his arms just tightened around her. She flushed as she looked away from his intense, burning gaze. "Let me go… please," she whispered, forcing the words out of her throat, which suddenly had a huge lump in it. "Please," she repeated, choking back a sob. He had to, because if he didn't, she was going to lose herself again… in her memories of him, of them.

Even now, just being pressed up next to him, breathing him in, she could feel her resolve weakening, and she had to resist the urge to wrap her arms around him again.

"Don't – don't leave," he forced himself to say. "I'm sorry – about everything that happened. I'm a terrible person, and you have every right to hate me." The words burned like acid as he forced them out. He'd never apologized to anyone about anything, but now he found himself groveling. And even as the words seared his pride and destroyed his dignity, he found that once he'd started he couldn't stop.

"I – I don't know how it could have happened but I promise you it was an accident, I don't even remember any of it I must have been piss drunk and I'm not even sure what happened that night I was so out of it it might not even have happened and I…"

He continued rambling on, his face half buried in her neck. Hot tears streamed from his eyes and dampened her skin. Moved by his pain, just wanting to help him somehow, she found herself wrapping her arms around him and stroking his back gently, soothingly. How out of character for him, she thought, how strange that the "cool" type, the shadow king, was crying in her arms and begging her to forgive him. Even as the law student in her analyzed the situation from all angles, the woman who was holding the man she loved more than anything could do nothing but try to offer him comfort as best she could.

Without thought, she blurted out, "It's okay, Kyoya. I'm done."

When he heard that, he clutched her even tighter towards him, sobbing even harder than before. "No it's not okay, Shana. Please, I – I'll do anything, just…"

She turned and dropped a light kiss on his temple, the only place she could reach while he held her so tightly against him. "No, I meant I'm done with being angry. You've worn down my defenses. I can't be angry at a shadow king who's come back into the light."

At that, he pulled back from her a little to stare earnestly into her eyes. "You're sure?" he asked, a little disbelievingly. "Even though I - "

She covered his mouth with her hands. "Actually, let's never speak of that again," she interrupted him, cringing.

He kissed her fingers, then reached up to grab her wrist, pulling her hand out of the way. With his other hand, he caressed the side of her face, his thumb gently brushing over her lips, before he bent to kiss her. "Thank you," he whispered against her lips. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he whispered over and over again, the sound of his soft voice acting as the glue that stuck her broken heart back together again.

She twined her fingers in his hair, just like she used to do, and kissed him back. "I love you too," she told him, smiling, knowing exactly what he was trying to tell her even before it occurred to him. And just like that, the tether connecting her soul to his snapped back into place with an almost audible sound, and he was sure that nothing had ever felt so right in his life.

The two of them, completely immersed in their own little world, failed to notice the little audience that they had attracted, standing just behind the front doors of the mansion.

Tamaki, his arm around Haruhi's shoulders, smiled at the sight of his best friend finally letting his emotions be known. Hani and Mori stood next to Sakura and Kaori, all of them with small, satisfied smiles on their faces. The twins grinned mischievously, wondering if it was safe to tease Kyoya about this embarrassing lapse of decorum. Then they glanced at each other and simultaneously decided that although Kyoya was so different now, he was still the shadow king and to incur his wrath would still be a death wish.

Haruhi wrapped an arm around Tamaki's waist, turning her head and resting her chin on Tamaki to grin at her friends. This had worked out much better than expected – they had hoped that tonight would be the start of the road to mending their broken relationship, but none of them had expected it to happen so quickly. This was a testament to the strength of the bond that Kyoya and Shana shared. They shared a destiny, something that no one could break, no matter how hard anyone tried.

Thinking about it, Haruhi found it highly unlikely that Kyoya could ever have been so drunk that he would actually sleep with Chantelle. The night of Tamaki and Kyoya's graduation, they had all gone to Tamaki's house and gotten drunk on expensive alcohol (that was the last time they let the twins plan anything). If she recalled correctly, Kyoya had an amazing tolerance for liquor, and even after he was drunk, he still seemed to be completely in control of himself, if more giggly and forthcoming about his feelings than usual.

"Tamaki, come to think of it, Kyoya doesn't do the usual stupid drunk things even when he's absolutely trashed. He wouldn't have slept with that… uh… _her_," she mused, the last word spat out in complete disgust. At that, everyone stood rigidly, their minds all turning in complete synchrony as they processed what Haruhi was saying.

"That's actually true, come to think of it. Kyou-chan never really loses all his wits, even when he's drunk. In fact, he would pass out before… he consumed enough alcohol to… be that stupid…" Hani chimed in, his words drifting off as he frowned in concentration. All of them gasped simultaneously as they realized what must have happened. "That bitch!" the twins whisper-yelled. "Time to pay her a special visit, I think," Tamaki said thoughtfully. "Yeah," Mori grunted.

Completely oblivious to the epiphany that their friends had arrived at, Kyoya and Shana finally detangled themselves from each other and smiled as she caught his hand. Turning towards the mansion, they stopped short as they saw their excited friends. "Why are they all here?" Shana whispered with a perplexed frown.

Remembering the commotion that he had caused as he dashed out of the ballroom, Kyoya flushed. "Uh, how uncanny?" he offered weakly. Shana looked at him suspiciously and was about to inquire further when their friends all rushed at them. Tamaki was the first and he flung his arms exuberantly around Kyoya. "You did it! You are now promoted to prince status!" he proclaimed, all the while clinging on to Kyoya. "Kyou-chan, congratulations!" Hani added, smiling adorably. "Yeah, congrats," Mori said quietly and almost nonchalantly, though the small smile that quirked his lips told Kyoya that Mori was genuinely happy for his friend.

"Ah, how boring! Now we're the only members of the host club who aren't shackled down!" one of the twins – to this day, Haruhi was still the only one who could tell them apart – grumbled to the other. "Hikaru!" Haruhi exclaimed angrily as she untangled herself from the group hug, smacking him on the back of his head. "Just kidding," he said, grinning cheekily. "Congratulations, Kyoya-senpai!" the twins then said together.

Shana wasn't spared the usual treatment by their rambunctious group of friends. She had been rushed by the girls and was currently stuck in the middle of a group hug, while they all squealed in excitement over the renewed relationship. "Thank you guys," she said softly, overcome by emotion, as she hugged them all back.

As they were shepherded back towards the mansion by their friends, Kyoya and Shana linked hands again, and in that instant, everything was perfect.

_Phew! It's been like two years since I've written a chapter of this, and I was honestly not intending to finish this at all, but I was rewatching Ouran High again the other day and just felt like writing again. I'll probably finish this soon – maybe another one or two chapters just to tie up some loose ends – but I'm not intending to continue the College series._

_I love hearing from all of you guys so please review to tell me what you want to see! (Any requests, like Chantelle-bashing?) Or review to tell me if you want to see a continuation of this series with the twins (although I must warn you that even if I do continue updates will be very sporadic since I'm starting JC next year)._

_Wow it's been ages since I've done this! Hope to hear from you guys! _

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	20. Chapter 20

The sun peeked through the gap between the drawn curtains, falling on the sleeping couple, their bodies intertwined on the king-sized bed. Clothes were strewn haphazardly all over the room, with a pair of boxers lying half-on, half-off the bed, a bra hanging from the bedside lamp, and a sadly crumpled dress left on the floor near the door.

The light shone into Shana's eyes and she stirred uncomfortably, wondering who had designed this room in the first place. She cracked one eye open and winced as the sun glared mercilessly. She tried to turn over, failed due to Kyoya's weight on her, and turned her head to look at the bedside clock. "Shit," she muttered as she took in the unblinking numbers staring back at her. "It's past two already."

Wriggling out from under Kyoya, she headed to the enormous bathroom to relieve and refresh herself – well, as best she could without a toothbrush, anyway. She gargled with mouthwash and used one of the sample face wash packets that she found in a basket under the sink – although why Kyoya had something like that in his bathroom, she wasn't sure.

She grinned at herself in the mirror, in a better mood than she'd been for a long time. She practically skipped out of the bathroom and smiled again when she saw Kyoya who was still lying in bed glaring at the ceiling, looking for all the world like a petulant child. "It's too early," he grouched when he saw her opening the door to the bathroom. "Come back to bed already."

She rolled her eyes at him as she went back to the bed. She sat down on it and crossed her legs. "It's past two already, in case you hadn't noticed," she informed him, although she knew he was fully aware of the time. "I need to get back to the dorms because I have things I need to do, and I know you have things you need to do also, so let's go."

He shot her a dirty look as she reminded him of his obligations, but acquiesced anyway, climbing out of the bed sulkily. "Are you sure we can't…" he let his voice trail off suggestively as he looked back towards the bed.

She shook her head at him, trying to look annoyed but knowing she was failing miserably at it – she couldn't help it, he was too cute. She was increasingly certain that the "Low Blood Pressure Evil Lord" horror stories the Host Club spoke about when Kyoya wasn't there were just that – stories. "We don't have time! Besides, we did it about five times last night, aren't you tired?"

"We did have a nap," he sulked. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. "Shower with me?" he asked cheekily. The way he was hauling her into the bathroom made it clear that he wasn't going to take no for an answer so she just laughed at him. "Well, if you insist," she said coyly.

The look that he shot her over his shoulder let her know that he wasn't falling for her ploy. "Besides, it's your fault for waking me up in the first place," he told her.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered as he pressed her against the cool tile wall of the shower. Then he turned the water on, crashed his lips onto hers, and as their arms found their way around each other's bodies, nothing more was said for a long time.

* * *

While Shana and Kyoya were basking in the glow of their renewed relationship, the rest of the Host Club was doing something else. All of them had turned up en masse at Shana's – and Chantelle's – dorm room, all with displeased, frowning expressions, even Tamaki and Hani. When Tamaki knocked on the door, all of them steeled themselves for the unpleasant confrontation that was imminent.

A sleepy Chantelle opened the door, clad only in a man's button-down shirt. "What?" she asked rudely, with a scowl that turned into a coy smile as she took in the scene in front of her. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked, posing coquettishly, leaning against one side of the doorframe.

"Who's there?" a sleepy male voice called from inside the room. Everyone grimaced in distaste as they came to the conclusion that Chantelle had had company over the previous night.

"None of your business!" she snapped back, before turning back to the Host Club members. "Would you care to come in?" she asked while checking out every member of the Host Club, while studiously ignoring Haruhi.

"No thanks, we'll make this as quick as possible, and try to minimize the unpleasantness," Tamaki said coolly. Haruhi was impressed by his cold, professional, Kyoya-like demeanor and for the first time, could tell that he was going to make an amazing chairperson of Suoh Financial.

Hearing the steel in the tone of the handsome man whom she'd come to regard as being a harmless idiot, warning bells seemed to ring in Chantelle's mind. She stood straight and fiddled nervously with the hem of the shirt she was wearing. "What unpleasantness?" she asked, trying and failing to seem cool and collected.

"We know that you pretended to have a one-night stand with Kyoya. You will apologize to both Kyoya and Shana, and will never bother either of them, or any of the Host Club members, ever again. It is not necessary for you to change schools, but you will be expected to transfer out of the dorms and find accommodation elsewhere. In addition, a special request will be put in to change your class schedule so that you will never run into either Shana or Kyoya, even in the canteen." Hani calmly laid down the ultimatum, his steady gaze never once faltering.

"You – you're insane! All of you! What right do you have to make these unreasonable demands and ridiculous accusations of me!" Under the bravado, Chantelle was clearly intimidated by the Host Club.

"Boss, this is getting so boring!" Hikaru complained in a petulant tone. He then fixed a look of such venom on Chantelle that she just about melted into a puddle of sheer terror. "This could get ugly if you don't co-operate quickly," he threatened, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

"What my brother is trying to say, Chantelle," Kaoru interjected, smiling – although by no means a friendly smile, "is that if you decide to make things difficult for us, even without Kyoya's knowledge, the rest of us combined have the power to make the rest of your college life miserable. With a couple of phone calls, we can even arrange to have your college experience… terminated early, shall we say."

"If you still need convincing," Tamaki added, "the bank where your father holds such an important and high-paying position is owned by the Suoh financial group. I trust you see where we are headed with this?" he asked rhetorically. "My dear princess, it should be clear now that you have played a dangerous game with the Host Club, and lost. When you mess with one of us, you take us all on."

Utterly defeated, Chantelle slumped against the doorframe. At the mention of her being expelled from the university, all the wind seemed to simply puff out of her sails. "Okay," she muttered softly, not daring to make eye contact with any of them.

"Wonderful," Tamaki said, bestowing a princely smile on her before they all turned and left. Mori turned back to look at Chantelle as they left, and though his face didn't reflect any of the emotions he felt, his eyes flashed in anger and disgust before he turned his back on her.

* * *

Almost a full hour later, a smugly satisfied Kyoya pulled a lethargic and yawning Shana out of the shower, briskly drying her off before doing the same to himself. As she blinked owlishly at him, he grinned at her. "Come on, don't you have things you need to do?" he asked, draping her towel over her head.

She began to half-heartedly dry her hair, rubbing the towel back and forth without putting much force behind it. "Yes, but that was about three orgasms ago," she grumbled, her face still partially obscured by the towel.

"Yes, three is a good number, isn't it?" Kyoya mused as he walked into his walk-in closet to get dressed.

After patting the ends of her hair dry, Shana removed the towel from her head and tossed it into the laundry hamper. She retrieved her bra and sadly crumpled dress, putting both items of clothing on before hunting around for her missing panties. When she finally found them, wadded into a ball in the corner, she didn't bother to put them back on, instead choosing to stuff them into her purse.

Kyoya came back out of the closet, saw Shana dressed in her rumpled outfit from the previous night, and immediately disappeared back in, only to reemerge a few seconds later holding a long-sleeved shirt, which he held out to her. "Wear this," he instructed, looking away with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Oh… thanks," Shana said in response, clearly confused by the gesture, though appreciative nonetheless. She understood as soon as she put on the shirt; it came down to her knees and the cuffs dangled a good six inches past her hands, effectively covering up most of her exposed skin, as well as the fact that she was wearing last night's outfit, and saving her from having to make the "walk of shame" back to her dorm later.

"Come on, the car should be ready by now," Kyoya said, shepherding her out of the room as she yawned again, rubbing her eye with a fist. "You can nap in the car," he said, smiling at how adorable she was, how perfect, how… _his_. The unexpected flood of possessive emotion stunned him, and he unwittingly squeezed her arm tighter in response, causing her to look at him with concern.

"Are you all right?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"I could not be better," he responded mysteriously, not deigning to let her know about his newly discovered possessiveness. She eyed him curiously, but then decided that it couldn't be something major, and shrugged it off since she was still sleepy.

Settling in the car, Shana almost immediately dozed off, cuddling against Kyoya contentedly. He smiled softly, looking down at her sleeping face, relaxed and peaceful in her slumber, a slight flush across her cheeks from their earlier activity. At the thought that he'd put that color on her face, his chest puffed out a little. As ridiculous as he knew this caveman act of his was, he couldn't help it – Shana seemed to bring out all the emotions in him that he usually repressed with rationality screaming to the forefront.

He was just leaning down to kiss her when his phone rang in his pocket. He sighed when he recognized the ringtone – it was Tamaki's customized ringtone. "What do you want," he snapped, his customary greeting to Tamaki.

"Jeez, is that really any way to talk to your best friend?" Tamaki demanded in his usual exuberant fashion. "I'm hurt, Kyoya, honestly!"

"Just get to the point already," Kyoya growled, annoyed.

"Fine, fine," Tamaki said with a long-suffering air. "The Host Club took care of some things for you and Shana, and to facilitate the execution of our plans, you need to escort her all the way back to her room – not Haruhi and Kaori's room, her room," he instructed Kyoya seriously.

"Hang on, what are these plans about – " Kyoya, worried now that he'd heard the terrifying and infamous 'idiot king serious tone', tried to ask, only to be cut off by Tamaki.

"Well, that's all, bye bye now! You children have fun, you hear!" Tamaki exclaimed joyously, before hanging up the phone.

Kyoya puffed out a sigh of resignation as he put his phone back into his pocket. "That idiot…" he muttered to himself, annoyed. Still, his curiosity had been piqued by Tamaki's mysterious demands, and he knew that he would do what Tamaki said, if only to find out for himself what his stupid friends had been up to in the short time that he hadn't been around to keep them in line. Besides, knowing them, he would have to do some damage control.

* * *

_Yay! This chapter was so much fun to write. ^_^ The next chapter will be the last I think, or I might add a cute little epilogue at the end. But the next chapter will be just tying up all the loose ends, then I think I might start on the next installment of this series. Or I might do an AU fic for Ouran (I really want to try my hand at writing vampire smut hahahah)._

_I love hearing from you guys so please let me know what you think of this chapter, what you want to see in the next chapter, etc! _

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


	21. Chapter 21

As the limo pulled up in front of the dorm building where Shana usually lived, Kyoya heaved a sigh. This was it. The fairy tale was over, and it was back to real life. Kyoya also had a gut feeling that whatever the rest of the Host Club had arranged for the two of them was going to make or break this relationship.

He was almost tempted to ask the driver to turn around and go back to the main Ootori residence, but he had never run from anything before, and damned if he was going to start now, with so much on the line. He looked over at Shana, who was still curled against his side, sleeping, and steeled himself. "Time to face the music," he muttered, before gently shaking her awake.

As she slowly registered the movement, her brows pinched together into a frown. "No," she muttered, opening one eye and glaring at him.

He stifled a laugh and continued to shake her. "Come on, we're back at the dorm."

She mumbled something under her breath and then opened both her eyes, leaning against the back of the seat for a moment. "Fine," she said grumpily, and pushed him out of the open car door, before climbing out herself, obstinately refusing his help.

They walked hand in hand back up to her room, Shana feeling a little self-conscious since she was still wearing Kyoya's shirt. She hurried down the corridor to her room once the lift doors opened, pulling him along in her wake. Stopping outside the door to her room, she rooted around in her clutch for the key card.

"God, I hope Chantelle isn't here," she muttered to herself as she slotted it into the lock and opened the door. She couldn't imagine the scene they would have to deal with if Chantelle saw Shana and Kyoya together again…

Pushing the door open all the way, she froze in shock and dismay. _Goddamn it,_ she thought. It appeared that her supply of luck had run out last night, because there Chantelle was, staring at the two of them with shocked, wide eyes. And… what on earth was she doing?

For a moment, the three of them froze there, a tableau of shocked, awkward silence. Kyoya was secretly plotting to slowly and painfully murder every last one of the Host Club members – what the _fuck_ were they all thinking? Having Chantelle here when they returned… it seemed like something out of a nightmare.

Unexpectedly, it was Chantelle who broke the silence, kneeling down in front of them, her forehead touching the ground. "I'm sorry, so sorry!" she almost screamed. Then she looked up at them, tears streaming down her face. "It was fake, all of it! Kyoya and I didn't have sex, I tried but we went back to his apartment and all he could talk about was you and then he passed out and I had to pretend!"

The confession looked like it was costing Chantelle dearly; it seemed like she was practically forcing each word out. Yet she gritted her teeth and continued speaking, and Kyoya knew that this was the surprise Tamaki had spoken of. He had to say, he was rather impressed. He was the one who usually handled the coercion and negotiations of people who crossed members of the Host Club. It appeared that even without him, they could handle things just fine.

Shana, on the other hand, was busy processing the image of the usually brash, brazen and cocky roommate who treated her like scum kneeling on the ground in front of her. This was, to say the least, an uncomfortable situation.

She was also having a hard time comprehending what Chantelle was saying to her – that Kyoya had actually never cheated on her. She'd spent a while coming to terms with the fact that he had last night, since she knew it was a mistake and that he clearly regretted it, and she'd finally managed to accept it and put it in the past where it belonged. And now… well, this was a paradigm-shifting development.

"Wait, so you mean to tell me that all these months I've been moping around feeling depressed and you've been giving me all that shit for _no reason at all_?!" Shana was getting angry now, as the reality of the situation set in. All the time they'd wasted, being devastated over the loss of their relationship, and over something that had turned out to be so unnecessary? "Why on _earth_ would you do that!" she exclaimed, fighting back tears of anger and hurt. She'd known that Chantelle found her irritating for some reason, but to go so far as to actively get in the way of a relationship, even to the point of deception… that was a low she hadn't thought Chantelle was capable of.

She took a deep breath, ready to start on a tirade and rip Chantelle a new one, when Kyoya put a hand on her shoulder, and she instantly calmed down.

"I… I'm sorry," Chantelle cowered. "Please don't get me expelled or fire my father," she pleaded. "I've already sent in a notice to the dormitory management committee that I will be moving into an off-campus location as soon as possible, and will be staying at a hotel until the apartment is ready. I'm packing now to leave…"

"Fine," Shana said, turning to leave the room.

As she walked out, Kyoya watched the undisguised hatred in Chantelle's expression as she stared at Shana's departing figure. He turned to leave, but then stopped and turned back to look at Chantelle.

"Your little stunt was not appreciated," he said coldly. "And you will not even entertain any thoughts of revenge on Shana, or I will make the reality of the threats my friends made to you seem like heaven in comparison to what I will do to you and your family. Do you understand me?" He glared at her, putting the full force of his anger and disdain into the look.

Chantelle shrank back in fear, wondering how he'd managed to guess what she was thinking. "Yes, sir," she said meekly, finally understanding that she'd chosen the wrong people to toy with.

He turned, and the light from the corridor glinted off his glasses, hiding his eyes. His mouth, which was still visible, quirked up on one side into a triumphant smirk. "Excellent," he said, and walked out the door, letting it close behind him.

He hurried to catch up with Shana, who had stopped about two doors down, after realizing that Kyoya was not with her. "What did you say to her?" she asked curiously. "You went all shadow king on her, didn't you?" she predicted with a sigh.

He frowned. He really wished that the others hadn't told her of the 'shadow king' mantle he'd earned among their group. Still, he supposed it was as good a description as any.

"I just helped her to understand the repercussions of any further plans she might have to mess with us, that's all," he explained, the picture of innocence as he smiled at Shana.

"So… in other words, you threatened her and her family with financial and social ruin if she ever came close to either of us again?" Shana concluded.

He shrugged one shoulder. "Pretty much, yeah."

Shana wanted to tell him that he shouldn't do things like that, that he should have been nicer about it, that Chantelle clearly regretted her actions – although she was most likely helped along to that realization by the other Host Club members – and he didn't need to do anything that excessive, but she found that she couldn't. Chantelle had been so cruel and vindictive towards her that she just couldn't bring herself to defend the older girl.

And, although she was never going to admit this to Kyoya, she did like that he was like that sometimes, and found his 'shadow king' side incredibly hot. Then again, judging by the smirk on his face, he was well aware of that, the insufferable bastard. Then she smiled. _Her _insufferable bastard, and if she had anything to say about it, that's how he would stay.

"Come on, let's go!" Kyoya said, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the lift. Shana laughed at his Tamaki-esque exuberance.

"Where are we going?" she asked, still laughing.

He turned and looked at her. "Well, first we're going to find the other Host Club members at the café just off-campus, where Tamaki informed me they'd be hanging out for the rest of the afternoon. We're going to thank them for taking care of the Chantelle situation and spend a little time with them. Then, we're going to walk back to my apartment and…" He leaned in and whispered wickedly in her ear, things that made her cheeks flush with simultaneous embarrassment and arousal.

"That sounds like a fabulous plan to me," she told him, pulling him down to give him a kiss. "Especially the later plans," she added with a lascivious wink, which caused him to tense up in shock. She laughed at his stunned expression and pressed the button for the elevator, before coming back to him and taking his hand.

"You know," she said almost conversationally as the doors to the elevator slid open, "I don't think things could have worked out any more perfectly than they did."

As they stepped into the elevator and Kyoya wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her smaller body flush against his own, he couldn't help but agree. Everything was absolutely perfect.

* * *

_Yay, I finally finished it! Wow this story took about 3 years to finish (so sorry to everyone who was following me since like 2011?!) I hope you enjoyed the story and the ending was satisfactory! Please do drop me a review to tell me what you thought of it! _

_On another note, what would you guys like to see me work on next? Would you guys like me to continue the series with the twins, or write a vampire Ouran fic? (If you have any other requests now would be the time to inform me as well hehe). I also haven't decided which twin to write about next, so if you have a preference, do let me know as well!_

_Yup, that's about it for now!_

_Love,_

_Peachy Hikaru_


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